Job and Family
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: One shots/episodes tags set in the "Unconditionally" universe based on Season 12. Tony/OC, McGee/Delilah. Team as family. Contains spoilers for Season 12.
1. From Russia With Love (Twenty Klicks)

**Disclaimers: **I do not own NCIS or its characters. They belong to CBS and showcreators. I make no profit off of these stories, just playing in the snadbox. I do owe the character of Leah Dawson-DiNozzo.

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Twenty Klicks". Rated more on the heavy T side as it contains suggestions of adult themes.

**A/N: **I'm working on the next multi-chapter story in the series, but while I'm doing that and getting it ready to post I figured I would write some episode tags, one shots based on what we're seeing on TV every Tuesday. (And really is just an excuse to write more of Tony/Leah). "Tiny Photographs" was a future fic, as Baby Jack's birthday is September 16, 2015. So some of these one shots will happen before Tony and Leah got married and while Leah is pregnant. This first chapter takes place before "Will Be Yours Forever". Any confusion, please feel free to PM me :). Enjoy the first tag to "Twenty-Klicks"!.

* * *

**"From Russia With Love"**

With the roar of U.S military jets behind him, Tony desperately tried to get a phone call through to home.

Several attempts later, his fiancée finally answered. "_Did you find them? Are they okay? Delilah and I have been up all night worried sick."_

Tony sighed, heavily and looked across the tarmac at Gibbs and McGee… a little battered and bruised, but otherwise lucky to be alive. The helicopter crash alone could have killed them before any Russians with assault weapons caught up to them... or wolves according to McGee. "Yeah. I found them. Both are alive, banged up, and just want to get home. We're in Germany now, waiting to get a flight back to D.C. I'll be late, so don't wait up for me, sweetheart."

"_Alright… but promise me you'll call when you land in Washington?" _Leah asked, sounding a bit anxious. "_Please?"_

"Promise," Tony replied, not begrudging her that anxiety because well… he'd felt it since Gibbs and McGee had been lost in Russia. "I love you."

"_I love you, too,_" Leah echoed before hanging up.

Tony shoved the phone back into his pocket and proceeded across the tarmac towards Gibbs and McGee. He wasn't sure what to make of his boss since dragging him out of Russia, quite literally. There was a funny look in his eyes every time Gibbs looked at him. "I finally got the satellite phone to work," he said, softly, almost too softly that his fellow agents couldn't hear him over the roar of jet engines.

McGee nodded and his shoulders eased. "Was Leah with Delilah?"

"Yes."

"Was she angry that I…didn't call her?"

"Doesn't sound like it, Tim."

Gibbs gave him that funny look again as McGee climbed onto the plane with a handcuffed Kevin. The former marine had barely spoken since they had arrived in Germany, waiting for their next flight. It was really starting to unnerve the senior field agent.

Tony shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "You alright, boss?"

"You didn't have to risk your life to come get me," the team leader responded.

"But I did, boss. We didn't know your situation… if you were dead or alive... you needed help."

"And Leah? Would she have been happy if those Russians had killed you?"

"Boss… you can't use Leah to keep me behind a desk."

Gibbs let out a shaky breath. "I know, Tony," he whispered. His brow furrowed and he gave the senior field agent the same look that was unnerving him, and said only two words… but they had a profound impact. "Thank you."

* * *

Tim wasn't surprised to find that Delilah was still up when he made it back to their apartment. And he also wasn't surprised that Leah had stocked their fridge full of casseroles so they wouldn't have to cook.

Delilah was sitting on the sofa. She made space for him, silently, and Tim nearly fell into her arms. It felt good to be held by her. Felt good to be out of that forest cheating death and back on friendly ground. He buried his face in her hair, soaked in her smell and sighed. "It's good to be home," he murmured. He lifted his head. "How was Dubai?"

"Obviously not as exciting as Russia," Delilah quipped with a smile. "And I was only there for a few days."

"Are you going to have to go back?" Tim asked.

"Yes. That was the deal when I moved back home that I spend two weeks a month there," she said with a sad smile.

Tim nodded even if he was disappointed. "When do you have to leave?"

Delilah frowned. "Tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh. So we only have tonight…"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Somewhat… long transatlantic flight from Germany."

She looked at him incredulously. "Tim. What do you think Tony is doing with Leah at this very moment?"

He chuckled. "If I had to take a guess…"

Delilah silenced him by kissing him, intensely. Her lips ignited a fire in him, one of intense desire and at the same thankfulness that he was still here to enjoy this. He returned her advances just as eagerly, finding the buttons on her blouse and started to pull them while she wiggled him out of his jacket. Tim forgot that he was tired and sore. He gathered her up into his arms and carried her into their bedroom to spend the rest of the night with her and forget about Russia.

* * *

"I thought I told you not to wait up for me," Tony said when he found Leah in their bedroom wearing a very revealing black nightie.

"I figured you could use some stress relief," Leah replied, coyly.

Tony dropped his bag by the dresser and slipped out of his jacket. He sauntered towards her and grabbed her by the waist. "I have _a lot _of stress," he told her, pulling her towards him and closing the gap between their bodies. "Sure you can relieve all of it?"

Leah wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers teasing his hair while she smiled at him. "I hope so. But we can have fun trying can't we?" she asked, pulling him down for a kiss. She backed up leading them to their bed and grasping his tee shirt in her hands, she laid them down on top of it. Her hands roamed underneath the shirt, running over firm muscle. "My man got in shape over the summer."

"Working out was a good way to release some tension of the sexual variety."

"Were you that tense?"

Tony yanked his tee-shirt off, tossing it aside. He straddled her and continued to kiss her almost relentlessly. As he began to slip her nightie off, he quipped with a seductive little grin, "What do you think? My beautiful fiancée was halfway around the world in Cairo. Now… how about we relieve some of that stress, sweetheart."


	2. Peep Show (Kill the Messenger)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Kill the Messenger." Minor suggestion of adult themes.

**A/N: **I'm not quite sure about this one. When I read it back some of the dialogue feels off to me but I don't know how to fix to keep with the plot idea. Please let me know what you think. Always open to constructive critique to help me get better at writing.

A **Guest **reviewer asked if I was going to do a tag with Tony/Leah and the new agent we saw in Choke Hold. The answer is YES. In fact, I already wrote it lol. Like, immediately after the episode was done haha. Hope you like it.

This is one of two tags I wrote for "Kill the Messenger". Enjoy!

* * *

**"Peep Show"**

What in the name of everything holy had he done? Married! He was getting _married _in a few days! He should not have seen his partner's, his best friend's—his _best man's _fiancée naked like that.

Tony shivered. This was the stuff that Lifetime movies were made of. So it was with this thought in mind that he stopped on the way back to NCIS at his fiancée's favorite bakery downtown and grabbed a slice of her favorite cake. It wouldn't hurt to have something sweet to soften the blow that he'd seen way too much of Delilah that afternoon.

"Cake?" Tim asked when he noticed Tony return with the pastry box. "Uh-oh… what did you do?"

"Oh um… nothing…" Tony lied with a shrug. He could see Gibbs' head pop up at his desk and scowl at him. "Just thought Leah would like it… you know… four days before the wedding… lots of stress… she likes chocolate."

"You could have gotten her a candy bar from the vending machine," Tim replied. "Come on… fess up. What did you do?"

Tony glanced at his boss. Gibbs shook his head as if to say that he wasn't getting involved. "Okay… well… first of all before you get all uppity with me… I didn't mean it."

Tim blinked, his face showing no signs of emotion. "Yeah… are you practicing what you're going to say to Leah on me?"

"No. I'm trying to tell you what happened."

"Feels more like you were avoiding it."

_Yes, yes at first I was. Because… oh hell, I'm embarrassed. _"Listen your phone was ringing… it had been ringing non-stop for about twenty minutes. So… I saw that it was Delilah calling and I… answered."

Tim still didn't react. Which, Tony found slightly disconcerting—why wasn't he showing any emotion at all? Surely he must be aware that Delilah had called him and was planning on flashing her future husband and _not _Tony.

Tony eyed Gibbs again. The team leader was smirking slightly. "She was trying to FaceTime you."

"Yeah and you wanted to say hi. She's your friend," Tim supplied.

"Yes… exactly," Tony said, "I definitely didn't want to… well… you know."

"No, I don't Tony. Please tell me."

Was he serious? It had been about an hour since he'd picked up Tim's phone and got an eyeful of Delilah. She must have called him by now, texted him to let him know what happened. She was not the kind of woman that would have swept something like this under the rug. Tony was very much aware that he was in for an earful later when he called her to apologize. And here was Tim, sitting there and acting like he was innocent and knew nothing. "Come on, McGee. You have to know."

Tim shook his head, keeping his face devoid of expression. "No. I really don't."

Tony couldn't stand the robot like Tim. "I saw your fiancée naked!" he blurted out. It felt like everything in the bullpen stood still as Tim sat there silently, still not reacting to a word his partner had said. Tony didn't want to hurt his friend. He didn't _mean _to see Delilah naked. And it certainly meant nothing! He was getting married in four days! "It was an honest mistake, I swear, Tim."

An almost passive look came over Tim's face. He still didn't say anything. It was driving Tony insane. Finally the senior field agent stalked over to Tim's desk, pastry box in hand and dropped the cake he'd bought of Leah down onto Tim's desk. "What do you want me to do, Tim? Give you this cake? Let you see my fiancée without her clothes on to make it even?"

"DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped.

"What! He should be furious at me!" Tony countered.

"For what? Finally learning your lesson to _not _answer everyone's phones?" Tim threw out, grinning.

"You knew," Tony accused. "And you strung me along."

"Yeah. It was fun."

"I'm taking my cake back."

"Never asked for the cake."

"Also taking my offer to see Leah naked back."

"That's fine. Doubt Leah would go along with that anyways. She thought it was funny."

Tony froze. "You _told_ her?"

Tim shook his head. "No. Delilah did. I think she felt just as embarrassed as you did. She told me Leah laughed and said, 'He learned nothing from our long distance relationship over the summer apparently'. So… is that why you would disappear into closets whenever she called?" He waggled his eyebrows at Tony.

"Like you haven't done the same when Delilah is in Dubai."

"Yeah. But I didn't answer your phone when Leah called you."

"Will the both of you shut up?" Gibbs nearly shouted, annoyed. "You're full grown men that have women in your lives that you're sleeping with who _sometimes _have to go far away for periods of time. NOW. Can we please get back to work?"

Tony and Tim glanced at each other, called a silent truce and did as they were told.


	3. Wedding Date (Kill the Messenger)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Kill the Messenger".

**A/N: **Second tag to "Kill the Messenger". There are not enough Tony and Abby scenes on the show, so I wrote one. Just a short and sweet one. Enjoy!

* * *

**"Wedding Date"**

"Is it too late for me to bring a date?" Abby asked him out of the blue.

Tony, still working away on his report, looked up to see Abby standing in front of his desk. "Too late to bring a date for _what?_" he asked back, confused. His brain was jumbled with case facts and his stomach was growling relentlessly because he'd missed lunch. He just didn't have the energy to keep up with her that night.

Abby frowned. "To the wedding. Is it too late to ask a date to the wedding?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to pursue anything with that guy because he was too good looking?"

"And I thought you wondered if that had been why it took you so long to find Leah?"

Tony surrendered to the fact that she was right. He did say that. And both of them knew that wasn't the reason why it had taken him so long to settle down. He pushed his report aside for a moment. "Okay… good point... we all say things we don't mean. So… are you going to ask him out?"

Abby shrugged. "Don't want to deal with you and Timmy doing your 'he's not good enough for you' act."

"Hey! I do not do that! McOverprotective… maybe."

"So then you have no problem doing a background check for me?"

He scratched nervously behind his ear. The last time he had done a background check on potential lovers it had not ended well for him in the form of a very angry Israeli. He still had nightmares about it sometimes… "What kind of background check? Because I really don't think I should be using NCIS resources to check into your new boyfriend."

She glared at him and put her hands on her hips. "He is not my new boyfriend… not yet… and you wouldn't have to use NCIS resources. Have you ever heard of social media?"

"You want me to check out his Facebook page?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why can't you do that?"

"I want an _honest _opinion."

Tony looked past Abby at Bishop's desk. "Why not ask Bishop? You know… woman to woman?"

Abby rolled her eyes. "I did. She said she'd do it."

"Great. So why are you asking me again?"

"Because! I want to know if I should bring him as my date to the wedding!"

"The wedding is in _four _days."

"I know. That's why I asked if it was too late to bring one."

Tony shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Well… usually two or three people just don't show up for various reasons. He could always take one of their plates. Not sure where we'd seat him though."

Abby's eyes went wide. "Oh gosh! I didn't think about that!"

"Yeah… and where would he stay?"

"Damn. You're right."

"Sorry Abs. Just trying to help."

"Oh, I know. And you still are going to help me."

"Huh?"

"The background check!"

"You still want me to do that?"

"Yes!"

Tony's head was really spinning now. He reached for a sticky note and wrote down a reminder for himself. Slapping it onto his computer monitor, he grinned at her. "Ok. I'll do it as soon as I get back from my honeymoon."

Abby nodded. "Fine. The three of us will reconvene then." She turned to go, pigtails swishing behind her, and then she abruptly turned back. "And no word to McGee."

"He's gonna be okay with it, Abs."

"You think so?"

"No. Just thought I'd try," Tony said with smile. "Promise. My lips are sealed."

"Good because if they aren't…"

"You can kill me without leaving evidence…"

Abby grinned, hugged him tightly. Gosh she had been hugging him a lot lately. Why had she ever stopped? He loved her hugs. Pulling up she left the bullpen that night feeling very excited and anxious about what those background checks were going to find. But at least she knew that Tony approved, and really, besides Gibbs approval, it was all she could ask for. Tim would never approve because he always thought she was too good for any guy she dated and yeah her track record had not been great, but still. He couldn't expect her to sit around while everyone else got married around her. Even if she didn't necessarily want to get married herself.

Meanwhile, Tony was left back in the squad room trying to figure out a way to tell his future wife that he wasn't going to be home to help her pack. He still had this report to finish and a background check to perform. _Yeah, _he thought as he grabbed his cell phone, _this is going to go over really well. _


	4. The Plague Whisperer (NCIS:NOLA,Carrier)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for NCIS:NOLA "Carrier".

**A/N: **This isn't really a tag to any Season 12 episode, but to NCIS:NOLA. I have been watching it faithfully every Tuesday and I really love the team, especially Sebastian. He cracks me up every week. I wanted more Tony in the episode that MW guest starred in but I understand filming time and having to jump on a plane to get to New Orleans prevented that. Anyways... here is an episode tag to "Carrier". Also I'm placing this chronologically just after Tony and Leah's wedding. I'm having a lot of fun writing these tags! Enjoy!

* * *

"The Plague Whisperer"

Tony shoved the last of his packing into the bag and zipped it up. He was happy to be getting of Louisiana, away from anything that might get him sick again… although the doctor's were right… his body had built up a stronger resistance… he just didn't want to chance it too much. Also… he didn't want to give it to Leah.

It broke his heart to picture her that sick, struggling to breathe and wondering if she was going to make it. He wouldn't wish that kind of sickness on anyone, not even someone he hated… or well… maybe he would wish it on someone that he hated… but certainly not Leah. It would ruin him if he brought the plague home to her, if she ended up under those blue lights, fighting to be that fifteen percent.

He'd vowed nine years ago that he was going to do his best to protect himself from getting that sick again and now that included his wife.

"So, it's really true, you had the bubonic plague?" La Salle said in that southern drawl.

"Actually it was pneumonic but… really when you're dying from it, it really doesn't matter," Tony said standing and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

La Salle grinned. "You must be one stubborn bastard, DiNozzo, to have beat the plague."

Tony returned the smile. "My wife says that all the time." He held his hand out to the friendly agent and shook it. "It was nice working with you, La Salle. Make sure Pride behaves." He slid his sunglasses down over the bridge of his nose and stepped out into the heat, getting into a cab. In a few short hours he'd be at Andrews' and he could go home… away from the plague and the rats and all the other bad things he associated with that nasty disease.

* * *

Leah was cooking when he arrived, tired, smelling like a pressurized cabin, but she smiled at him regardless. "I'm not going to get sick if I kiss you, am I?" she asked, grinning.

Tony dropped his bag and gathered her into his arms, kissing her fiercely. "I missed you," he whispered when they broke a part. "So much that it hurt. It wasn't very nice of them to send me on assignment after returning from our honeymoon."

"You were only gone two days," Leah pointed out.

"It was the longest two days of my life," Tony confessed. "I wanted to be with you, away from any chance of getting sick again. Vance likes to send me on these things just because I've built up some kind of defense."

Leah nodded. "You would have. Your body fought it and won. Doesn't mean you won't get it again… just it's more likely that someone who hasn't had the plague gets it before you do."

Tony looked at her seriously. "Which is why I was terrified that I'd bring something back to you. I had them test me. I'm negative for the virus."

"I thought you said you were wearing a HAZMAT suit the whole time you were in the contaminated area?"

"Yeah… I did."

"And you were still worried you'd get me sick?"

He sighed and hugged her. Tony couldn't imagine his life without her and he definitely did not want to be the reason that he lost her. "I just needed the reassurance that you were going to be safe."

She snuggled closer to him, happy to have him home and in one piece. Leah had been anxious about him going to New Orleans on Vance's request to help Special Agent Pride, but she hadn't argued with him. It was his job. And she now that they were married he was taking even more precautions to keep himself and her safe. His fingers slipped effortlessly through her hair and she sighed, happily.

Tony chuckled, softly, in her ear. "I brought you something."

"You did?"

He pulled away and went to his bag. First he handed her a bag of beignets. "From Pride… he felt bad that he was taking me away from you so soon after our marriage. And… I saved the best for last," he told her, pulling out a tiny Voodoo doll that looked just like his wife. "Look," he said with a teasing grin, "Now Little Tony can have a Little Leah to keep him company."

"Oh…Little Tony is going to be so happy."

"Figured he might."

Leah took the doll from his hands and went to put it on the shelf next to Little Tony. He'd been intrigued when she had laughed the first time she saw it and put it proudly on display. Of course…she was a professor of archeology…artifacts like Voodoo dolls fascinated her. She turned and smiled at him. "Are you hungry my plague whisperer?"

Tony feigned a look of seriousness. "I just spent all afternoon on a military flight… yes, my darling, I'm hungry. What are you making me tonight?"

"Nothing fancy… just spaghetti and meatballs."

"I don't need fancy, sweetheart."

"Obviously because you married me."

"Leah… you can be glamorous and fancy."

She looked down at her old, worn jeans and faded sweatshirt, and laughed. "Oh yeah… so glamorous."

He reached for her again, pulling her towards him and kissed her. He felt her melt underneath his embrace. "I love how you can be _both _glamorous and casual and still manage to look beautiful whatever you wear."

"And they said the romance would die after we were married."

"Never, darling. I love you too much for it to die."

"Tony," she whispered, "Now that we're married can you do me a favor?"

"Yes, darling," he answered, "What is it?"

Leah sighed and pressed her lips to his tightly before answering, "Please do not go off and play the plague whisperer ever again. It's just too risky."

Tony chuckled. "I promise, darling. That was my last time."


	5. The Definition of Soul Mate (So It Goes)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "So It Goes"

**A/N: **Tag to "So It Goes". I loved this episode so much. David was brilliant in it and I would love to see more flashbacks of young Ducky! Opening line I found from an online dictionary so I take no credit in that piece of writing. Every definition I found of soul mate was similar to this... I just liked this one best. I have never, or never will believe, that any of the women in Tony's life was his soul mate, especially Ziva. So, this little conversation with Ducky was born.

Speaking of Ziva... I'm really intrigued by that mention in the promo for next week's episode. Perhaps the final nail in the Tiva coffin? Maybe... please... one can dream right?

* * *

"The Definition of Soul Mate"

_Soul mate. Noun. __A person with whom one has a strong affinity, shared values and tastes, and often a romantic bond._

There had always been a small piece of him that was surprised when the word _Shannon _didn't appear in the examples in the dictionary. Now Tony could add a whole list of names next to the definition, _Delilah, Leah—Maggie. _

After listening to Ellie's follies in London, Tony had ventured down to autopsy to find Ducky. The medical examiner was finishing up a report at his desk. Jimmy was gone for the night and as the senior field agent made his way towards the desk he straightened his tie. Ducky didn't glance up at him when he approached, offered a soft greeting with a soft smile, but kept on writing. "How come we never heard about Maggie?"

Ducky stopped and put his pen down. He thought long and hard for a moment. "I guess… for the same reasons that Jethro never talks about Shannon. It was too painful… in a different sense of course because Maggie did not die. But as a young man… it felt like she might have well have."

"It's not such a great feeling," Tony admitted. He found an extra stool and pulled it up to the desk and sat down. "Knowing you lost your soul mate."

"Indeed it is not," Ducky replied. He poured himself a cup of tea and offered some to Tony. The SFA graciously took him up on his offer. "I am curious, Anthony… when have you felt like this? You found your soul mate and have married her."

Tony sipped his tea. "When? The night before I was supposed to marry Wendy… when Jeanne walked away… when I left Ziva behind… all those times it felt as though I'd lost my soul mate."

Ducky could argue that those women had never truly been Tony's soul mate, even if it had felt like they could have been. "Because you believed all those women to be your soul mate at one point or another in your life, Anthony. There is no denying the amount of love you shared for each of those women… but I would dare to say that non of them loved you unconditionally like Leah does."

He glanced at his tea and then Tony gave a sad smile. "Unconditionally... meaning I can screw up and she'll still love me?"

The medical examiner chuckled. "Yes. Something like. But it is so much more. Anthony, your love for those women never changed, it was why the relationships didn't last or work out. Your level of caring remained the same for them, very deeply, yes, but you never moved to the point where you felt that love in your soul. Leah changed that."

"What do you mean, Ducky?"

"Do you find yourself loving her more each day? That the mere thought of not waking up to next to her hurts?"

"Yes. When I was in New Orleans I felt like...something was missing from me."

Ducky smiled. "She is the other half to your soul."

Tony grinned. "My better half?"

"Oh no, you are both equally wonderful. And dear friends my boy."

"So it's that simple then… why none of those other women were my soul mate?"

"Yes. I would say so. No need to make a simple thing complicated."

Tony laughed, sipping his tea. "Leah says I do that all the time. But she isn't talking about love or our relationship."

Ducky pondered for a moment, studying his teacup. "Love is a simple emotion, Anthony, it explains why we can fall in love so quickly—staying in love, maintaining that love is what is the complicated part."

"Why do you think she didn't go with you?"

"The same reason I suspect that Wendy left you at the alter—she wasn't ready yet."

Tony tapped his fingers on the table and handed Ducky something. It was a post-it note with a number on it. "Just in case you didn't get this before leaving England… it's Maggie's number." He grinned when he saw the shocked expression on the medical examiner's face. "You should really stay in touch with her, Ducky. You know… to work on that complicated part."


	6. Leah, Leia, Leia, Leah (Choke Hold)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Choke Hold".

**A/N: ** Ok so this isn't so much a tag to "Choke Hold" but rather a rewrite of that fabulous scene at the end. As much as I liked Leia, I'm glad that it seems like they aren't bringing her back. She was a little too much like Ziva. Having it not work out to me means that he's looking for something different than Ziva/Leia (I told another poster that I wouldn't mind selling my rights to Leah hahaha).

**wytygr-** _I really liked Jordan. I wish they had kept her around. I hope we do see Maggie again. And being a Star Trek fan, yes I was like it's the Borg Queen haha! The "dead weight" comment irked me. If it weren't for the fabulous scene between Tony and the Chaplain on the balcony that episode would have been a total wash for me. I am crossing my fingers that this is the end of Tiva, regardless if Cote decides to make a guest appearance someday. Right now I'm reserving judgment until I see the episode and the context of that scene. _

* * *

"Leah, Leia, Leia, Leah"

It had been a while since Tony had used flirting to get information on the job, almost a whole year to be precise. But when Gibbs ordered him to keep Special Agent Leia Pendergast out of his hair basically… Tony knew he had very little options.

She wasn't entirely buying it. Perhaps he wasn't selling it that well at first because of the fact he was happily married now. And perhaps because in another place or time he would have found her extremely attractive.

However, she _was _buying that he had no idea that Gibbs had set them up to fake Nelly's death. He'd let her have that one.

"There you are!" Leah's voice called out. "I've been trying to reach you for the last hour."

Tony felt whatever bravado he had melt away as he turned to see his wife being escorted by another agent into the garage. He knew he had forgotten to do _something _before coming down here to set Anton up. He turned slightly towards his wife and smiled. "Hi. You came down here… to NCIS."

Leah was a little confused by his behavior. She glanced at the other agent with him. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

He snapped back to life, just a little, and gestured towards Leia. "Leah…Leia…Leia…Leah."

"Well that isn't at all confusing," Leia said, grinning. She held her hand out to Leah. "Nice to meet you."

Tony watched as his wife shook the FBI agent's hand, wanting for her to walk away at this point and let him get Leia out of here without taking too much of hit to his ego. Of course that wasn't going to go according to plan.

Leah, very much aware of the beautiful woman standing next him, tossed him a smile. "Did you forget our lunch date?"

"No. Just… got caught up in… you know… stuff."

"So… why didn't you call me? Or send me a text?"

Leia glanced at him questionably, smirking. "You really like to play the field, huh?" She spotted the diamond ring and wedding band on Leah's finger, "And with a married woman. You are just full of surprises, Tony."

"Oh well… you know…"

"Tony? What is she talking about?"

"Nothing! She's talking about nothing!"

Leia shifted her brown eyes between Tony and Leah. He wasn't wearing a wedding band, but the way the pair carried themselves it felt like they were husband and wife. "Wait a second… are _you _married? No wonder your pick up lines were awful."

Leah kept her heated glare on her husband. "No. They've always been that bad."

Tony laughed, nervously. "It meant nothing really!"

"Must have meant something if you forgot to wear your wedding ring," Leah snapped, holding up his bare left hand.

"No… just coincidence," Tony quipped.

"I think I've out stayed my welcome… again it was nice meeting you, " Leia said as she walked away, waving a departing at McGee and Bishop.

Leah waited until she was gone to speak. "Care to explain?"

Tony shoved his free hand in his pocket, the other one tightening around his coat that was slung over his shoulder. "No. I already guessed I'm sleeping on the sofa tonight."

"Pretty good guess."

"Honestly. It didn't mean anything. Gibbs ordered me to run interference."

"So you flirted with her? Made her think you were single?"

"Old habits die hard."

Leah crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, if you don't want to spend the rest of this marriage on the sofa you better kill them and bury them."

Tony could just feel himself digging a deeper hole that he had to climb out of but he couldn't stop talking. "You weren't that mad when I saw Delilah naked. Why are you so angry now?"

Her glare told him that he really should have shut up. "Why? First of all how would you feel if I didn't wear my wedding band and you found me flirting with a colleague?" His face portrayed the jealousy and she nodded. "Yeah… that's what I thought. Besides, I know Delilah. I know that nothing was going to happen between the two of you. I don't know this Princess Leia."

"Actually she hates Star Wars."

"OK, well, good for her."

"Leah," he said, softly, grabbing for her hand. "I'm sorry. She totally took me off guard and then when I realized I forgot my ring… well… I didn't quite know how to act. And then Gibbs… asked me to run interference... I fell back into a pattern that was easy. Safe. I'm going to promise to work on it."

She looked away because there was something about him that prevented her from staying mad too long. Sighing, she closed her eyes briefly. "No, I'm sorry. That makes it sound like I don't trust you… and I know that you would never hurt me that way."

He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze. "You know there's still time to treat you to that lunch. Just let me finish up down here."

"Really? Why do you think I'd want to go to lunch after _that_?" Leah questioned, throwing him an intense look.

"Do you know what Tony is spelled backwards?"

"Huh? No."

Tony grinned and shrugged as he tossed his jacket over his shoulder. "Why not?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Was that the line you were going to use to pick up Leia? Because if it was… you are so out of practice."

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with my pick-up lines!"

"Oh sweetheart… you _still _think the line about my eyes is why I went out with you, isn't it?"

"It wasn't?"

"Not by a long shot."

Tony looked wounded while Leah kissed his cheek, reminded him that he was still sleeping on the sofa and left.

Tim chuckled. "Did you really think she fell in love with you because of your pick up line?"

"No. I know that she didn't go out with me because I told her how pretty her eyes were."

"So… why make her believe that?"

"Because. She's feisty. Fights back."

Ellie looked a bit exasperated. Tony smiled. "What I can I say? I have a type."


	7. Don't Have to be the Hero (San Dominick)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "The San Dominick"

**A/N: **Here is another tag, this time to last weeks episode. I felt like this one could have had a great basement scene between Gibbs and Tony.

* * *

**"Don't Have to be the Hero"**

Upstairs the door slammed shut. Gibbs glanced at his watch. _Right on time, _he thought as he sanded away.

Tony appeared at the foot of the steps, looking pissed off and ready to pounce at any moment. His boss knew the reason why. He put himself in danger, willingly and had tried to do everything on his own once again. This time it had worked out... the next time the SFA wasn't so sure how it was going to work. "You know, a long time ago you told me that we worked together as a team. You and I. And now McGee and Bishop. What happened to that last night? Even Borin was angry with you."

Gibbs stopped sanding and went to pour his guest a drink, handing Tony the mason jar of bourbon. "Sometimes working as a team isn't the best option."

"Like hell it isn't," Tony snapped, downing his drink. "You thought it was best if _you _handled it on your own."

"I didn't want you or Borin or anyone else getting hurt," Gibbs confessed. "There's a lot more riding on my shoulders now, DiNozzo. You, McGee, and Bishop are no longer lone wolves."

Tony bristled. "So what you're saying is that because I'm married now you're going to baby me? I have never needed to be babied, Gibbs. And if you coddle me I can't do my job."

Gibbs couldn't recall a time that Tony was this angry with him. "I made a choice, Tony."

"Yeah newsflash... I'm not just going to accept that, boss. You made the wrong choice. You acted before I had a chance to negotiate and you could have gotten yourself killed. You don't always have to play the hero, Gibbs," Tony snapped.

"What did you want me to do differently, DiNozzo? There wasn't time!" Gibbs threw out.

Tony's gaze hardened. "I thought you trusted me. And if not, you trust Borin. We could have gotten the job done."

Gibbs shook his head and sighed. "I do trust you, Tony."

"You have a funny way of showing it, boss."

"Are ya gonna stay mad at me, DiNozzo?"

"Yes. I'm your senior field agent... it's my job to let you know when you screw up."

"Do you think I screwed up, Tony?"

"I think you got lucky this time."

Gibbs poured himself another drink. He had picked Tony all those years ago for this very reason... that he wasn't afraid to go toe to toe with his boss. There was something different about his second's anger this time. "What's really bothering you Tony?"

Tony set his jaw, looked away for a second, and then turned towards Gibbs. "Leah and I want to have a family someday and I'd much rather have you around to see it than have you buried six feet under because of something stupid you did. Boss, you know that my father is going to be a wildcard when it comes to being a grandfather."

He downed the rest of his drink and reached out to place his hand on Tony's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tony. I should have given you more time. I should have trusted you."

"Did hell just freeze over?"

"I've learned that apologizing isn't always a sign of weakness."

Tony looked at his feet for a moment. "Tell that to McGibbs... he's been apologizing all day for channeling you."

Gibbs chuckled. "You taught him well, Tony. He did good."

"Yeah," Tony replied with a smile. "He's going to make a good team leader someday."

"I hope you told him that."

"I did."

"Good. Because I don't tell it to you enough. So, I'm telling you now. You're going to make a hell of a team leader, Anthony."

Tony smiled, gently. "I'm glad we had this tallk, boss."

Gibbs let a small smile creep across his face. "Yeah, I'm glad we did, too."


	8. Spider (Parental Guidance Suggested)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Parental Guidance Suggested".

**A/N: **I know that I said I wasn't going to write a tag to this episode but... It's Halloween! We didn't get to see the party! Ok so obviously something's I'm ignoring in this episode as much as I loved it, first being that wonderful Tony and Abby scene... Yeah I'm imagining that happened before Tony went on his first date with Leah lol. And obviously he doesn't have the necklace anymore in this universe and he isn't serial dating. So, this is what I came up with. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

* * *

**"Spider"**

Zoe Keates had know Tony DiNozzo a long time ago. Long before Philly changed him, long before he'd gone to Baltimore, and long before he ever stepped foot into NCIS. But he had always put up a facade, even back then. Something was different about him. All those years ago he never would have said he was sorry for what he had done to her, leaving her without even saying good-bye. "You're changed, Spider."

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "We all change, Keates. It's been... well, it's been a lot of years. And there's been a lot of change in my life."

"Yeah, should we talk about that wedding ring? When did that happen?"

"Three weeks ago."

Zoe grabbed his hand to gaze at the white gold band. "It looks good on you. Always did say you'd settle down before me."

Tony chuckled and twirled his keys for a moment. "Yes, you did. So, why haven't you settled down yet, Keates?"

"Never found the right guy I guess. What took you so long?"

"It took me that long to find the right girl."

"Always said you were a catch, Spider. Glad you finally believed it."

"My wife would probably agree with you, you know that I'm a catch."

Zoe smiled. "I'd really like to meet her."

Tony grinned. "If you come to the party you'll get the chance."

"I don't have a costume."

"Don't worry, Abby has plenty."

* * *

Leah, dressed as Aphrodite, pushed her long hair off her shoulder and lifted the tray of finger foods off the counter and carried it out to the table. Abby knew how to throw a Halloween party. Music pumped through speakers like her lab and people dressed up as all sorts drank from black glasses with painted skeletons.

Speaking of skeletons... the lanky guy that Abby knew from volunteering had been drooling over her all night. Maybe she shouldn't have listened to Tony and dressed in a sexy costume. Her wedding ring wasn't stopping Skeleton Boy from leering.

"Well... I was right. You make the hottest Greek goddess I've ever seen."

"Oh? How many have you seen in your lifetime?"

Tony grinned as she turned towards him. "Only one. You."

Leah smiled and grabbed onto his suit coat. "Right answer," she whispered, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. "I thought you and Tim we're going as Batman and Robin?"

"I'm Bruce Wayne."

"But of course. How silly of me?"

"Very."

Leah noticed that Skeleton Boy was now leering at a pretty brunette chatting up Ellie and Jake. "How come you're late? I thought you would have been here sooner."

Tony wrapped his arms around her waist. "Ran into an old friend and was catching up. She wanted to meet you and I invited her to the party. It's funny how people lose touch isn't it? I just left Philly without a word and never second guessed myself or why she didn't call."

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" she asked, honestly.

"I was searching for something and it wasn't in Philly," he replied just as honestly.

"Was it in Baltimore?"

"Thought it was... until I chased Gibbs down, tackled him, and got punched."

"What?"

"Long story," Tony said with a smile.

He let go of her waist and took her by the hand, leading her through the crowd of costume clad people towards Ellie, Jake, and the pretty brunette. "Hey, can I steal Zoe for a second?"

Zoe turned and grinned at him. "So, you're going to introduce me to the woman that finally tamed you, Spider?"

Leah was highly confused. "Spider?"

Tony shook his head. "Another long story." He glanced at Zoe for a moment. "Zoe Keates, this is my wife, Dr. Leah Dawson-DiNozzo."

"Doctor, huh?" Zoe said as she shook Leah's hand. "I always knew you liked smart women, Tony. You weren't fooling anyone with the bimbos you dated back in Philly."

"But I have a type," Tony countered, playfully.

Zoe eyed him suspiciously. "Your type back then was whatever co-Ed thought you were cute. But you have always liked brunettes."

Tony kissed Leah's hand. "I have and still do."

"How do you know each other?" Leah questioned.

"Philly P.D. We patrolled together. Spider left without saying goodbye."

"Needed to start over and cut ties. You know how it goes."

Leah was suddenly struck with the parallel of how Ziva had left Tony's life. He had done the same with Zoe, only difference was she had not tracked him down for months only to have him reject her. And the fact that Zoe forgave him spoke volumes. She understood what Tony needed to do and in the end, maybe both Tony and Zoe had ended up better off. Years from now she wondered if Tony would forgive Ziva for hurting him. He said he was fine and had moved on but that didn't mean it still didn't hurt him.

Tony and Zoe were different though. Leah could see it in their body language while they talked. It didn't seem like there had been anything serious between them. Maybe that's why Tony had run... he had been so young back that, probably terrified of forming an emotional attachment to someone.

"Hey? Earth to Aphrodite... are you okay?" Tony's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Huh?" Leah asked, realizing that Zoe had walked away.

"You zoned out there for a second."

"I was thinking of something."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Leah shook her head and smiled at him. "No. Let's just enjoy the party."

Tony kissed her cheek and they joined the rest of their friends doing just that.

* * *

Later that night, after they had stuffed themselves with tasty treats and drinks, and they were in their bedroom, Leah voiced what was on her mind."It was nice that Zoe was so understanding about you leaving like that."

Tony undid his bow tie and shrugged. "It's been so long. It would be silly for her to hold onto that grudge. Besides, she was right, she deserved better than waiting around for me to figure it out."

"You don't see the similarities do you?" Leah asked, kneeling on the bed, watching him take his tux off. "Between what you did and want Ziva did?"

"No. I saw them, the minute Zoe said I just up and left," Tony said, softly.

Leah fiddled with her hair."Do you think you could ever forgive Ziva?"

Tony considered his answer for a moment. "I understood her choice. That she needed to do all that on her own."

"And that hurt."

"Yeah, obviously."

"Would you forgive her?"

He didn't understand why she was so interested in knowing this. Tony had already let go of Ziva, shipped her necklace back and married another woman. Why would Leah care if he forgave his old partner? "I've never really thought about it."

She sat there silently for a second, falling back onto her feet and sitting on them. Leah gazed at him softly and whispered, "I think you should."

"What?"

"Someday I think you should forgive her."

Tony stared at her for a moment really confused now. But then he saw the sincerity in her eyes and knew that she didn't want him to live with that anger forever. Would he be able to forgive Ziva if she came back tomorrow? No. He still needed that time that Zoe had to forgive him. He climbed onto the bed with his wife and kissed her. "You are amazing, my Goddess of Love."

Leah grinned under the pressure of his lips on hers. "You realize that I just decided that you should do this? Before I heard about Zoe... before I heard about how you left her and never looked back because you needed too... and that she learned to forgive you... I wanted you to carry around that hurt forever because I foolishly believed that if you didn't you would fall out of love with me and go back to her. But that didn't happen to you and Zoe at all."

He wrapped her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled against him for several seconds and then he whispered, "Time for our scary movie, sweetheart."

She groaned and pulled herself closer to him. "Only if you'll hold me and protect me from the scary monsters."

"Promise, Leah," Tony affirmed, " I'll always protect you from scary monsters."

"Ok, Spider," she teased, " bring on the scary movie."

"Don't you start calling me that."

"But it's cute."

Tony glared at her. Leah laughed. And he realized that she would be the only one besides Zoe that could call him that ever again.


	9. Tony's Cat (The Searchers)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "The Searchers".

**A/N: **Ok, I'm a cat person, I have two, so I was a little devastated that Rick Blaine ran away :(. So, this is my AU and I'm fixing that! This is obviously more on the humor side (or at least I hope it is), I do plan on writing another tag to this weeks episode that's more serious, between the boys. Until then, enjoy!

* * *

**"Tony's Cat"**

Something was purring in her ear, waking her up from her nap, and it wasn't her husband.

Leah sleepily opened her eyes and saw the cat, perched on her shoulder, nudging her. "Tony," she whined. "Get your damn cat off of me."

Tony laughed from the kitchen. "He just wants someone to cuddle with and since I'm unavailable at the moment… you're his next best choice. Come on, you have to admit he's a great cuddler."

"He's licking my ear!"

"I thought you enjoyed that?"

"Anthony!"

He laughed again and appeared in the living room, lifting the cat off of his wife and tucking him underneath his arm. "He's just trying to get to know you," Tony told her with an impish grin as he disappeared with the furry beast into the kitchen.

She grumbled under her breath so he couldn't hear her. It wasn't that she didn't like animals... she just didn't want to be competing with a damn cat for her husband's affections. Pulling herself up into a sitting position on the couch she went to stand in the kitchen, watching as Tony gave Rick Blaine some chicken from their dinner. "Oh, great, so he's eating what we're eating now?"

"I forgot to stop to pick up cat food," Tony said, stroking the cat's back. "Besides, rough life living on the streets... he needs some TLC."

"I just spent a week abroad don't I deserve some TLC?" Leah snapped.

"Aw, are you jealous?"

"Of a cat? No! I just.. I can't even believe I have to _ask _for a little attention!"

Tony chuckled and stood up, reaching for his wife and pulling her into his arms. He kissed her and murmured, "We have forty minutes until dinner's ready."

Leah melted into his embrace. "You're not going to invite the cat to join us are you?"

"No. Just you, me, and maybe some of that massage oil you love."

"We're going to need a lot more than forty minutes if we take that out."

Tony shifted her out of his arms, went towards the stove and shut dinner off. He then turned back towards her and waggled his eyebrows, scooping her up into his arms and carried her to their bedroom. "Dinner... dinner can wait."

* * *

Gone. Rick Blaine was gone.

Leah had forgotten to warn their cleaning lady that they had a cat and he'd bolted on her, down the hall and apparently into the elevator. And then to make matters worse... she had to call Tony. She felt awful. She knew that she wasn't the cat's best friend... but gosh... Tony had loved that little fur ball.

Tony being Tony... didn't get mad at her, just said maybe it was for the best. He'd hung up and left it at that. Which, made Leah feel even worse about the whole situation. When Tony didn't come home that night she panicked just a little, until she got the text message that he was staking out a pharmacy with Tim. And that's when she grabbed her running shoes, threw on a jacket and went out into the chilly fall night to look for Rick Blaine.

Flashlight in hand she walked around the entire neighborhood, stopping to chat with other people, asking if they had seen the cat. No one had and when her fingers were numb she went home, admitting defeat. The cat was gone and there was probably nothing she could do about it.

Maybe she could go back out in the morning. Leah flopped down onto the sofa, buried her face into the pillows and almost wished that she was going to be waking up to the cat purring and licking her ear.

* * *

"Leah?" Tony called when he arrived back home after his flight from Vietnam. "Are you home?"

Silence greeted him. Tony looked at his watch and decided that she probably had stayed late at the university to get some work done. He'd call the local pizza place and ordered a DiNozzo special, pop open a beer and enjoy the rest of his evening catching up on TV shows and hopefully with his wife.

By the time he had polished off half a pizza and had two beers... Tony realized that Leah still wasn't home. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed, worried now because it wasn't like her to be out this late and it certainly wasn't like her not to tell him she was going to be late. It went straight to voicemail and while he was in the process of leaving a very lengthy message the door to their apartment opened and Leah stepped inside.

"Don't do that to me!" Tony gasped, hanging up. "I thought something had happened to you!"

Leah looked up at him, exhaustion in her eyes, tears too. "Sorry. I didn't mean... I didn't mean to worry you. But I was out... I was out looking."

Tony was confused. "Out looking for what?"

"Rick Blaine!"

"The cat? You were out looking for the cat?"

"You missed him!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, but you didn't have to go out looking for him. McGee said he needed to be free, it was for the best."

She glared at him, tears running down her cheeks. "Don't say that! He needs a home!"

"Wait? You found him?" Tony inquired.

"Yes!" Leah exclaimed, pulling her jacket back to reveal Rick Blaine snuggled underneath. "I've been looking for him for _two _days!"

"Two?"

"Is something wrong with your hearing? Yes! Two!"

Tony stared at her for a moment. He wasn't sure what to make of this. Yes, he'd been a little upset that the cat had left him, but really... not to the extent she was... and hadn't she hated the cat for taking his attention away from her? "Sweetheart... when was the last time you slept?"

Leah looked at him, puzzled, while she stroked the cat behind his ears. "What? I don't know... sometime last night. Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't take this the wrong way... you look like a hot mess right now."

She gulped a large sob. "I just wanted you to be happy. So... so I went to find the cat... and it was cold... and did you know that stray dogs like chicken too? Because I didn't! And you know where I found him? Sitting out on the steps! He came back to you, Tony! He... He didn't need me to find him! And I... I don't know why I'm so emotional about all this!"

Tony tried not to laugh at her, because it was obvious she was a wreck. He took Rick Blaine out of her arms, placed him on the floor and watched as he went to the easy chair, jumped up and promptly fell asleep. He then gathered her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "It's because you really liked the cat after all, sweetheart."

Leah continued to gulp sobs and snuggled closer to him. "Tony?"

"Yeah, darling?"

"I really need to sleep."

"Oh... that's a bit obvious."

Leah wrapped her arms around his waist and used his presence to calm herself. Soon he was leading her towards the sofa where they both laid down, snuggled up underneath a blanket and just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt something land on her stomach. Opening her eyes she saw Rick Blaine, nudging her and purring, and then finally getting comfortable to fall back to sleep himself.

Tony laughed and rubbed the cat on top of his head. "See," he told his wife. "He came back to you too."

"Guess you're right," Leah mumbled. "He isn't so bad after all."

"Lee?"

"Yes?"

"I kinda love you more for going out there and finding him," Tony confessed.

"Good," Leah snapped, playfully as she fell asleep, "because you would have been in big trouble if you didn't."


	10. Stick Your Neck Out (The Searchers)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "The Searchers".

**A/N: **This popped into my head because Tony and McGee seemed concerned when Ellie told the her score and after Ducky told her that the lower the score the more potential you have. I'm not bothering to put my two cents in about the whole reason Gibbs was easier on her. Just know that I enjoyed this episode a lot, but it wasn't my favorite this season. Enjoy this update!

* * *

**"Stick Your Neck Out"**

Gibbs was in the middle of a quiet, well cooked meatloaf dinner when the door to his favorite diner opened, the bell jingled, and two tall forms strode in. The NCIS agent swallowed the bite in his mouth and watched their progress towards his table.

"Boss?" Tony questioned, sounding a bit uncertain, "Can we sit down?"

"Sure. Hungry?" Gibbs replied, gesturing to the waitress to bring two more plates.

Tony didn't have the heart to tell Gibbs that he and Tim had just come from dinner at his apartment where Leah had cooked them pork chops and mashed potatoes. "We, um... Tim and I wanted to talk to you."

Gibbs nodded and continued eating, noticing the tension in his two agents' muscles. He would admit that it had been a long few days, which surprised him even more that Tony and Tim were not home spending this time off with their significant others. "Something about the case?"

Tim glanced at Tony, anxiously. "Yeah... sort of, boss."

"Sort of?" Gibbs asked between bites.

"It's about Ellie," Tony stated, softly, almost in a whisper. "We think she's better than an 82."

He didn't say anything for a moment. Gibbs knew that Tony and Tim were operating on the belief that the lower the score on their evaluation, the more potential the team leader thought they had. Tony and Tim were not aware that Gibbs had been trying something new. Smirking, he put down his fork. "Eighty-two is a pretty damn good score, DiNozzo."

Tony blinked and shook his head. "Yeah... for someone on anyone else's team... but yours? Come on, Gibbs. I know that she isn't the poster child of the agency here, but she's... trying and learning... and she _wants _to be here. You aren't going to find that many agents who are going to _want _to put up with your... kind of training, boss."

Gibbs looked at Tim for a second. "You feel this way too?"

"She's always asking us questions on how to get better. So... yeah."

"What we're saying is... boss... we don't want Ellie to leave, we can't handle another change."

"Who says she's leaving?"

"Boss... you gave her an eighty-two," Tony reminded him, as if he had become oblivious to that fact.

Gibbs chuckled as two more plates of meatloaf were put on the table, as Tony and Tim _pretended _to eat their food. "Gave her the eighty-two because I think she's done a damn good job, Tony. Not because I don't think she has any potential."

Tony and Tim stopped what they were doing, both had wide eyes and confused expressions. It was the senior field agent that spoke first, "So... what the hell with my fifty-eight, boss? I've been here the longest so I must have had _some _potential!"

"You did, Tony," Gibbs said. "On the old system I gave lower scores to those I found had potential."

"So, why the sudden change of heart, boss?" Tony asked honestly.

"Because... lost two agents on that desk."

"What?"

"I didn't want to lose another."

Tony shook his head, pushed his plate away from him and frowned. "Gibbs... you can't possibly _blame _yourself for those two agents leaving. First of all... Kate didn't leave... she was murdered. And second of all... Ziva made her own decision..."

Gibbs sighed and looked at the two agents sitting in front of him. Tony and Tim had stood by him through so much and never batted an eyelash. Surely they had to understand that he blamed himself for Kate's death... for the actions that had led Ziva to leave them... "I could have done things differently..."

His senior field agent glared. "We all could have done things differently, boss. And then maybe Kate would still be alive... maybe Ziva would have stayed. You shouldn't shoulder all the blame and you certainly shouldn't hold Ellie back because you're scared she'll leave."

Tim's eyes nervously darted between both Tony and Gibbs. The senior field agent had been a bit more confrontational with the boss, or so Tim had heard from Borin, and he wasn't sure how Gibbs was going to react. So, he decided to placate the situation by adding, "She just wants to be treated like the rest of us, boss."

"You know something... she's lucky to have the two of you," Gibbs replied. "Sticking your necks out for her. She was right.. you two are amazing."

"She said that?" Tony replied, a little bit surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. She wants to be like the two of you," Gibbs pointed out. "Not a bad goal to have, boys. You're both great agents. And I don't say that enough."

Tony smiled, gently. "We're only great because you made us that way, boss. I mean... we were pretty good when we first got here... but you drove us to be better. I mean... look at McGee... he was a stuttering, probie mess when we first met him. And me... we both know I had trust issues."

Gibbs recalled those two men, how much potential they both had and how they really didn't know how to use it... or even had the confidence to use it. He told the waitress to wrap up their food and then smirked at Tony and Tim. "Better be getting home to your women. They aren't going to like it that you're hanging out at an old diner with me when you should be home."

"Well... we thought we were coming down here to convince you to keep our teammate around," Tony quipped.

"Guess... we didn't need to after all," Tim said with a shrug.

"Nope... but it was a nice gesture," Gibbs told them as their boxed up food was placed before them. He waved his hands in dismissal. "Now, get out of here. Go home. Enjoy your evening."

Tony and Tim gathered up their food, lumbered out of the booth and turned towards the door. TIm was halfway out of the diner before Tony turned and made his way back to Gibbs. "Hey boss," he said, softly.

Gibbs looked up at him. "Yeah, Tony?"

"You promise not to go _too _hard on her? She's a good kid but... I don't know how tough her skin is."

"She wants to be treated like the rest of you."

Tony winced. "Yeah... I really wasn't missing the head slaps, boss."

Gibbs chuckled. "Don't worry," he said before ushering Tony out of the diner, "I really wasn't missing them either."


	11. What Did I Miss? (Grounded)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Grounded".

**A/N: ** I say this I think every week... but this was my favorite episode of the season! I loved that the entire team worked together to solve the case. No one was snarky or rude to each other, they even wanted to include Gibbs in making snow angels and we got a REAL GIBBS SMILE. Tony and Jake's dynamic was fun. I hope we see Jake again. I liked him a lot and Abby was right... he is adorable lol. So... I've decided that in this universe, Tony was waiting for Leah to come home, not his father to get in from London, was inspired by a Tiva gif on tumblr about Tony waiting for Ziva at the airport... hope you enjoy my take. And I think I might have more coming from this episode... it was just so good! Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!

* * *

**"What Did I Miss?"**

TSA waited for everything to calm down before letting the passengers off the plane. Tony had turned his weapon over per regulations but was promised to get it back before he left, after all, he'd been acting well with-in the law.

But what he really wanted now was to get the hell of out of Dodge and go home. He was tired after working all day and then having to work a case while waiting for his wife's flight to come in... it only added to his exhaustion. And he could only imagine how tired Leah was going to be after being on a long flight and then circling Washington for nearly three hours. _What we both need is a nice, quiet evening at home... complete with movies and popcorn._

Tony felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket and he slipped it out, watching as TSA handled the crime scene and covered the body with a white sheet while they waited for the medical examiner to get here. _Can I get off the plane now? _Leah had texted him, probably in response to his text for her to remain on the plane when they weren't sure who the assassin was. He had told that he would explain later because he did not have the time at that moment to go into details and he just wanted to keep her safe. But now that everything was wrapped up... he smirked and informed her that she could get off the plane... that the coast was clear.

It had been an interesting evening. Even though he'd met Jake at the wedding a few months prior and briefly chatted with him at Abby's party before he disappeared to work apparently... Tony didn't know the NSA lawyer that well. After this evening he found he liked the guy a lot and perhaps Jake had gained a new perspective on his wife.

"Longest flight ever!" Leah exclaimed, and grabbed his attention. He turned to see stepping out of the tunnel and smiling. "Next time I agree to go away before Thanksgiving to do a guest lecture in England... stop me, please."

"Did you have fun in London?" Tony asked, taking her carry-on bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He kissed her, greedily. "I missed you."

She grinned and went to grab his hand. "London was amazing. You know... your cousin Crispian really isn't as evil as you make him out to be. He was very nice and showed me around town. Even took me to the opera one night."

He shrugged and gave her hand a squeeze. "Wish I could have been the one to show you around. Listen, I was chatting with Ellie and Jake earlier... they're taking a much needed vacation to someplace warm... maybe we should do that... you know, after Christmas. I have so much vacation time to take and I'm sure you're only going to be able to handle your mother for a few days."

"Ooo, a romantic get away with my husband..." Leah sighed but her words trailed off when she saw the covered body. "Whoa...what did I miss?"

"Oh, that guy," Tony said, looking over his shoulder. "Dapper Dan turned out to be Gun Slinging Harry."

"How did he get his gun through security?"

"Probably like how I got through to pick you up... flashed some credentials."

Leah blinked rapidly for a second. "Well.. that's rather terrifying... that anyone could show up with credentials fake or real and carry a gun through. Is that why you told me to stay on the plane?"

Tony licked his lips and pulled her closer to him, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Yeah," he whispered, "it turns out that our Gun Slinger was an assassin. At the time we didn't know who the target was... I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

She had gotten used to the dangers of his job but it did bother her that he always seemed to find himself smack dab in the middle of trouble. "Did anyone else get hurt when TSA took him down?"

"Here Agent DiNozzo," the TSA security guard that had taken his weapon addressed him, "here's your gun back. Lieutenant says you're free to go."

"Wait? _You _shot him?" Leah gasped. "You told me that you didn't carry your gun when you travel!"

"Not traveling. I came straight from work to pick you up."

"Anthony... please don't lie to me... did you take your weapon with you on our honeymoon?"

Tony glanced at the TSA officer who shook his head and walked away. He sighed, "Yes. I took my gun... it's just a force of habit, alright. And like you said I'm suspicious of everyone that I meet..."

Leah bit down on her lip. "I know... I know it's a force of habit... can you just... can you just tell me when it's on you... you know outside of work..."

He kissed her again. "Yeah. I can do that."

She closed her eyes and let out a tired breath. "Good. Can we go home? I'm exhausted. I think I want to take a warm bath, have a glass of wine and maybe sit in front of that electric fireplace cuddling with my husband."

Tony obliged her wish and led her down to baggage claim where they grabbed her suitcase and headed home. He realized as he drove through the snow that all he wanted was to take a warm bath, have a glass of wine, and cuddle with his wife in front of the electric fire place too.


	12. You Did Good, Anthony (Grounded)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Grounded"

**A/N: **I only have time to write one-shots this week. Lots of work to do and with the busy holiday season I'm not home that much. This one was bouncing around in my head the other night. **  
**

* * *

**"You Did Good, Anthony"**

It was strange that someone was knocking on their door that evening. And it was especially strange to find Gibbs standing on the other side.

Tony was confused why the boss had stopped by, especially after the day they all had, but he let the former marine into the apartment and closed the door behind him. "Ah... we weren't expecting you, boss. Leah... fell asleep about an hour ago on the sofa."

Gibbs peeked into the living room to see Leah curled up on her side underneath a large fleece throw, sound asleep like Tony had said. He shook his head, "It's fine, Tony. Didn't come to see the two of you... just came to see you."

"Oh... I take it that this couldn't wait until work on Monday," Tony whispered with a sad sigh. He retreated into the kitchen and pulled out some coffee. He felt Gibbs following behind him. "Sorry, boss. I... I could have done better."

"DiNozzo, what the hell are you talking about?" Gibbs snapped, leaning against the counter. "You did everything you could outside of your jurisdiction. You weren't at that airport to work... you were there to pick up your wife."

Tony rubbed his hands over his face. "Yeah... but I looked that guy right in the eye... and _nothing._ He hid his true self well, boss. I should have seen it sooner and I didn't... and now he's dead."

Gibbs would have yelled if it meant not waking the sleeping woman in the other room, but instead he put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Tony, listen to me. No one was expecting you to do a damn thing. You or Ellie. But you stepped up, you did your jobs and because of that only one person died. What do you think could have happened if that assassination attempt had been successful?"

"Considering the TSA officer was a bit jumpy... maybe a shoot out," Tony ventured to guess.

"He flashed his gun, you fired to protect those people," Gibbs reassured him. "Don't you dare doubt yourself!"

Tony sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Boss... I can't help it. I feel like there's something more I could have done."

Gibbs shook his head. This was the entire reason he had come down here. He knew that Tony would doubt his actions in this entire case. He was excellent in the field, quick, sure of himself, but after the fact... when the job was done... he just couldn't walk away. And perhaps that was because Gibbs didn't do enough of what he was about to say now, "You did good, Anthony."

For a second a blank, emotionless look came across Tony's face, and then a look of surprise. "What?"

"Is something wrong with you're hearing?" Gibbs asked in a teasing tone. "You did good, Anthony. I mean it. And I don't say it enough. I have to... I have to be better at that. Ellie told me a few weeks ago that you were great, that she wanted to be like you. And I realized something... it took her all of year to voice that compliment. It has taken me way too long to let you know."

"Boss... I'm not looking for... I'm not looking for assurance that I... do my job well," Tony whispered, turning slightly to check on the coffee.

Gibbs scoffed at him. "Like hell you aren't, Tony. You've been looking for assurance your whole life that you're worth it. Well, Leah gives you that assurance when it comes to love and relationships and family... but it's my job to give that to you when it comes to your work. You're a great agent, Tony... do not let anyone take that away from you." He gave the senior field agent's shoulder a slight shake. "I'm proud of you, Anthony."

Tony smiled, a true, beaming smile... one that had started to come out more the past year with Leah entering his life. "Wow, boss, I think that's the most you've ever called me _Anthony._"

"I'm trying to be serious, here."

"I know. And... thanks, boss. It means... it means a lot to me to hear you say that."

Gibbs surprised him then, by pulling him into a tight hug. Tony was taken off guard. Normally the boss wasn't this affectionate. It appeared that Ziva's leaving had effected him more than he was letting on.

"Am I interrupting something?" Leah's voice inquired, sleepily from the entrance of the kitchen.

Tony and Gibbs pulled back, the former marine patting the senior field agent on the shoulder one more time. "We were just having some coffee."

Leah shot an eyebrow up in questioning, grabbed a bottle of water from the nearby case and shook her head. "I'm going to bed because it's obvious to me that you boys want some _alone _time."

Gibbs laughed out loud while Tony babbled something after her. His senior field agent had done good on two accounts... the first being Tony's quick draw at the airport to take down the assassin before anyone got hurt... the second being he really had picked a pistol of a wife... someone who was just the right amount of just like him... and the right amount of different from him... in short, Tony had just picked the right girl, period. And Gibbs couldn't be happier for him.


	13. You Need to Go (House Rules)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "House Rules".

**A/N:** This episode was great but it didn't top "Grounded" for me. That one remains my favorite of the season. But I will say the more I see of Bishop the more I like her. That whole scene with her using the file cabinet to explain servers to Gibbs... perfect. Actually I have two little issues that I took away from this episode, first the clip from "Undercovers" used for Rule 12... Tony and Ziva NEVER DATED, shouldn't have been used. Second, I wanted to see the team there supporting Tim like they did for Gibbs when Jackson passed. Like I said minor issues that I could overlook and still enjoy the episode. And was anyone wondering if perhaps Tony's date was Zoe?

* * *

**"You Need to Go"**_  
_

Tony wiped his hands on his jeans and watched the fire burning for a moment. It felt good to have the warmth on his skin after their morning snow shoeing and he realized it was going to feel even better when Leah got back with that hot cocoa and he could snuggle her in front of it.

He had been less than thrilled when Leah mentioned they would be spending the holiday in Vermont at Judge and Mrs. Dawson's winter vacation home. Skiing, skating and other winter activities really didn't appeal to him, but... now that he was here... the quaint New England setting was the perfect way to spend his first Christmas with Leah. Their room had a beautiful view of the Green Mountains that were covered in white snow, a King sized bed with warm blankets and large fluffy pillows and a fireplace. No one could go wrong with a fireplace to set a romantic scene.

Leah appeared then with two mugs of hot cocoa, filled to the brim with whipped cream and marshmallows. "Oh, great, you got the fire going," she said with a warm smile as she sat down on the floor with him. She handed him a mug. "I put everything into it... including love," she said with a teasing little glint in her eyes.

"Bet it tastes wonderful," Tony said, softly, kissing her gently. "This has been the most relaxing Christmas ever. I'm sad we have to head back to D.C in a few days."

"And you didn't think you'd survive your first holiday with my family," Leah teased him.

Tony chuckled and sipped his hot chocolate. "You forget that I almost didn't make it to Christmas. Thank goodness for change of heart hackers, huh?"

Leah leaned back against him, burrowing into his embrace. "I'm not complaining that our fire range _date _was cancelled. I don't see the point of me learning how to fire a gun."

He grunted and shifted to look at her sternly. "Can we not have this argument again? Leah, I work all kinds of crazy hours... you're alone an awful lot late at night in our apartment... give me the peace of mind knowing that you're safe even when I'm not around."

She titled her head and looked at him, a little annoyed. "I've lived in that apartment for years and never have had the need to protect myself, Tony."

"Just please, Leah, humor me on this, okay?"

"Fine. But only because I'm tired of hearing my dad say the same things."

Tony wasn't surprised her former FBI agent of a father turned Federal Judge was pushing his youngest to learn how to use a weapon. He reached out with his free hand and ran his fingers through her hair. "We're only fighting with you on this because we love you, Leah."

Leah sighed and settled back against him. "Yes. I know," she whispered, as Tony's cell phone gave a shrill rang. She watched as he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it, a worried expression on his face. "Something wrong?"

"Don't know. It's Abby."

"Unusual. You should answer."

Tony took a deep breath and stood up, answering the phone as he retreated into the sitting room of their suite. As Abby frantically spoke, Tony glanced back into the bedroom at his wife, her happy face, and suddenly the feelings of relaxation and bliss melted away as a harsh reality hit. "Yeah, Abs," he whispered before hanging up, "I'll be there."

Leah looked up at the sudden change of tone to his voice and saw the sadness in his eyes. "Tony? Is everything okay?"

He licked his lips and pocketed his cell phone, placing his mug onto the dresser. "Tim's father passed away last night. The funeral is tomorrow morning. I... I should be there but..."

She shook her head. "No buts. You should go. You _need _to go."

"It's our first Christmas together."

"Then we should both go."

Tony got back down onto the floor with her and pulled her into his arms. She didn't need to be there, she could stay here with her family and enjoy the holiday, but she wanted to come with him... be with him at Christmas and that meant the world to him. Kissing her cheek, he knew that they would make the most of the time they were given and that her parents would understand, besides, he still had time off after Christmas, they could drive back up to Vermont and spend the New Year with her family. Tim was more important at this point. "This isn't how I pictured our first holiday together going."

Leah buried her face against his shoulder, clutching tightly to his sweater. "Sometimes life doesn't go according to plan. We just have to roll with the punches."

"I'm an expert at rolling with life's punches, trust me. Just once I wish life would swing at someone else."

"Don't we all at some point?"

"Yeah," he whispered, kissing the top of her head, "yeah, we all do." Slowly he got up and grimly went to make their travel arrangements.


	14. Someone to Save You (House Rules)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "House Rules"

**A/N: **Inside look into Tim's thoughts at this time. I like the last sequence of flashbacks when Tim said there would be someone to save them, this was slightly inspired by that. I might have one more to give out of this episode since there was a request for some fluff. For now, here is this short, sad, little tag. Enjoy!

* * *

**"Someone to Save You"**

Tony had dragged out his best suit and it was lightly dusted with fresh, fallen snow. It was the same one he'd worn to Jackie Vance and Jackson Gibbs' funerals. Tim recognized it, how the black fabric tailored to Tony's build, made him look like James Bond.

When he emerged from the back room, saying goodbye to his father, Tony had been the first one that he saw. And not because of the sharp suit or the fact Leah managed to make even a black pant suit look good... but because they were there. He had made the decision to let Tony and Leah have their first Christmas together in peace, enjoy her family up in Vermont. They didn't need to be burdened with Tim's grief.

Delilah had argued, mildly, that Tony would be upset when he found out Tim had not called him. But, like in his letter to his dad, he quoted a rule to her: rule 18. It was better to seek forgiveness... and truthfully, Tim still hated the idea of crying in front of his partner.

He wasn't surprised that Tony had shown up. Abby had a bit of a guilty look on her face whenever she made eye contact with Tim. It also wouldn't surprise him that she had called Tony and let him know about the Admiral's passing. But now that his friend was here, Tim realized how much he needed Tony's support, maybe even more than Gibbs at times. It had been hard for Gibbs, just having lost his father, to come up with the right words to console Tim. His grief was still fresh.

As if Tony knew he needed a few words of comfort as he sat down in the pew in front of him, a hand reached out and grasped his shoulder. Tears pressed tightly to the backs of his eyes as Tony's strong fingers gave his shoulder a gentle, yet quick, comforting squeeze.

Tim suddenly didn't care if Tony or anyone else saw him crying. He had loved his father and his grief was raw, this was harder than saying goodbye to Kate. This dug deeper and hurt more. How was he going to deal with this going forward? He wasn't like Ziva or even Gibbs. He wasn't good at bottling those emotions up and going through life like it was okay.

He felt Tony's hand again, strong, steady on his shaking shoulder. "I've got your back, Tim," the senior field agent whispered. "It's going to be fine, eventually. But until then you can count on me to have your six."

Somehow he nodded. Tim wiped his tears and took one shuddering breath before he got up to read his letter to the mourners. _No matter how many rules we break... there's always someone there to save you._


	15. Lone Wolf (Check)

**Warnings: **Major Spoilers ahead for "Check". Maybe some OOC Gibbs.

**A/N: **So many thoughts about last night's episode. First of all, I totally thought it was going to be Rebecca that was going to be killed, until I realized where Gibbs met Diane. Overall, I liked the episode, not my favorite of the season, but it was good. It wasn't Diane's death that really broke my heart, it was Gibbs' afterwards, especially that last scene when the phone rang and it was Fornell.

P.S- super excited for Zoe to come back next week! It's time for Tony to move on.

* * *

**"Lone Wolf"  
**

It was true that Leah Dawson-DiNozzo didn't know Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as well as her husband... she had only been in the agent's life for a little over a year... but his quiet, confused state as he sat at her dining table... concerned her, deeply.

_This _was not the Gibbs she had come to know. This was a man that had been beaten and broken down. And the way Tony was growling, stalking around the apartment... whatever had happened to bring Gibbs to this point was not good. And if Gibbs catatonic state was not an indication... the blood covering his face surely was.

Leah didn't know what to do. Between Tony a ticking time bomb and Gibbs basically in a coma... what was the social convention here? Should she offer him coffee? _No, Tony said he was on a seventy-two hour coffee free diet... _Bourbon then? _Damn, we don't have any. We finished it all up Christmas Day when Tim and Delilah came over... _"Should I order a pizza?"

_Pizza? __Really? What the hell are you thinking, Leah? _she thought, noticing the slight curl of Tony's lip. Gibbs on the other hand didn't flinch. He had been in the same spot since Tony had dragged him into the apartment forty-five minutes ago. "Or I could cook something..."

"Are you going to say anything to me?" Tony finally snapped, directing the comment at Gibbs, ignoring his wife. "Or are you going to sit there and pretend that what you did was fine?"

Gibbs grunted and it appeared that this was the only response he was going to give Tony. The ticking time bomb... it went off with that response. Leah had only seen her husband of four months that angry once... when she had accidentally taken his laced coffee... Tony had a fire in his eyes back then similar to now... and Leah wasn't sure what he was going to do.

Tony circled the table, coming around to face Gibbs. "Fine. You don't want to talk... you want to play the functional mute... go ahead. I'll do all the talking! It was _wrong _what you did! It wasn't _your _job to put an end to this... not alone! If you had waited... we've have him by now!"

"Maybe I'll just go down the street and pick up some take-out..." Leah said, looking for an escape.

"Stay," Tony snarled. "Tim is stopping by with Chinese."

Leah flopped back into her chair and watched as Tony continued. "I feel for you, Gibbs," the senior field agent lashed out, "but you realize that _none _of us are safe now. You've pissed off plenty of people in your life... but you've really pissed off this guy. Which one of us is next?"

Gibbs didn't respond. He shifted slightly and looked at Leah. Immediately the woman could see his remorse, the guilt, and _what the holy hell happened today? _she thought as she looked up at Tony.

"Am I going to take the next bullet Gibbs?" Tony shouted, hands shaking. "Don't you get it? We could have stopped it all today if you had waited!"

"He put a bullet between her eyes!" Gibbs finally snapped, jumping to his feet and startling Leah. "Don't sit there and tell me if the roles were reversed _you _would have waited! If it had been Leah he executed like that..."

"Maybe I wouldn't have... but I wouldn't have punched the guy," Tony glowered. not bothered by the fact that Gibbs was standing nose to nose with him. "I would have returned the favor of the slug through his brain."

Gibbs resisted the urge to smack him on the back of the head. He'd suffered enough through this day... he didn't need this crap from Tony of all people... he had screwed up... he _knew _that he had screwed up. "I know I screwed up, DiNozzo! Is _that _what you want me to say! He's going after my family... _mine! _As far as I'm concerned... I don't care how we get him!"

Tony swallowed, angry bile collecting in his throat. "We, boss? As far as I can tell... there is no we. There's _you _and you seem to think that this entire vendetta is all about you... newsflash! It's not! That blood on your face! That represents the blood I had on _my _face after Kate was killed! You're not the only one suffering! STOP making this about you!"

Leah watched the twisted expression cloud Gibbs' face and for the briefest of seconds she thought that perhaps Gibbs was going to strike Tony. "You know what... forget dinner... how about some Scotch?"

It was as if her awkward, nervous statement snapped both men back to reality. Startled, they both stared at her and she thought, _damn if only I had mentioned Scotch sooner... _

"Boss, I..."

"Don't even _think _about apologizing, DiNozzo."

"I didn't mean to imply that you were selfish..."

"DiNozzo! Shut up, will ya!"

Leah jumped up from her spot and headed towards the kitchen. "I'll get that Scotch," she said before round 2 could start. She wasn't a hard alcohol drinker herself but... son of a bitch... those two were going to make her one.

Grabbing three tumblers from their liquor cabinet and the bottle of fine Scotch that really was there when her dad stopped by for visit... _Dad will understand... he's a Federal Judge... _

Tony and Gibbs were still standing in the dining room, but not as close and the team leader was back to his near catatonic state. She made sure to pour him the most and slid the glass across the table at him. "It's not bourbon... but it will do... right?"

"It will do."

"Do you want... do you want a cloth to wipe the blood?"

He reached his fingers up to touched the caked, dried blood on his face. Gibbs' heart clenched as he remembered it was Diane's blood... _the look on Tony's face when he stood there with Kate's all over him... _"Cloth would be nice," he conceded.

She managed a weak smile and with a breath of relief went to the bathroom to bring back a wet cloth so he could was the blood off his skin. As she rummaged around in the bathroom, she heard Gibbs tell Tony, "If the times comes... you take her and run."

Take her and run? What did he mean by that? _And what the hell really happened today? _ Tony's response was cool, collected. "You won't have to tell me twice, boss. Got the bags already packed..."

Leah happened to pass their bedroom and see the two duffel bags by the door. When had he done that? Hands getting cold from the wet cloth, Leah shakily handed it to Gibbs. Their eyes met, briefly. _Take her and run. _A year ago she would have laughed at the very idea of just picking up her life and leaving but now... being married Tony... and having a federal agent covered in blood in her dining room... well... if he told her to run... she would run.

Quick knocks on the door startled her. Tony went to answer, his hand going to his hip and his weapon while he peaked out the peep hole. When he unlocked the door and stepped aside, Tim walked through, holding onto a bag of Chinese take out. He dropped the bag on the dining table. "Boss. You... you must be feeling better... you're washing your face and you're drinking..."

"Not feeling better... but we have a job to do," Gibbs replied. He caught Tony's eye, "And no more being the lone wolf."


	16. Unpredictable Yet Not (Check)

**Warnings:** Small spoilers for "Twilight", "Kill Ari", "Hiatus", "Song Swan", "Pyrmaid", and "Check"

**A/N:** I've had more time to digest this episode and I have to say I still don't agree with a lot of the comments out there. I thought it was a good episode and I'll say it here, I have no desire to see this turn into Ziva coming back (actually I have one idea I wouldn't mind seeing, PM to ask lol). Anyways... I still have like two more ideas to tag this episode. Congrats Steve Binder on helping me get my writing mojo back with this one!

By the way while writing this, totally came to me that this is around the time that Leah probably got pregnant with Jack... now that will add another dimension to the whole story won't it lol...

* * *

**"Unpredictable... Yet Not."  
**

Tony stepped into the bedroom and softly closed the door. He looked at his wife, reading the latest bestseller she had picked up at the local bookstore. Gibbs was sleeping in the guest room, Tim on the sofa... Delilah was, thankfully, in Dubai... and Leah... didn't seem bothered by the sudden appearance of overnight guests.

He kicked his shoes off and sat down on the edge of the bed. _If the time comes... you take her and run. _Tony peered over his shoulder at the packed duffel bags. The moment they had made the connection that the Petty Officer's death had been recreated to represent Mike Franks, Tony knew that none of them were safe. Sergei was a psychopath that knew how to use a gun. Tony couldn't chance it. Not with Leah's life on the line.

"Are the kids asleep?" Leah asked, cutting into his thoughts. She looked up from her book and smiled.

"Yeah. Both went down for the night relatively easy," Tony answered, with a little grin. He appreciated her teasing with him. It relaxed him.

Leah placed a bookmark in her book and set it down on the nightstand. "Tony... I know that it's none of my business what went on today... and I'm probably better off not knowing... but... why didn't you tell me you had packed bags in case we have to run?"

Tony ran a hand over his face. "Didn't want to scare you."

"I had a man with a blood covered face at my table tonight... I think we're beyond trying to protect me from being scared."

"Good point. Do you remember how Kate died?"

Leah had to go back to retrieve that memory, how broken and beaten Tony had looked telling her about Kate Todd... how _he _had ended up with her blood on his face after she had been shot to death. "Gibbs was near someone when they were shot like Kate?"

Tony sighed, heavily and nodded. "Not just near... almost in the same exact spot as me... on a rooftop. She was killed by a sniper. Single bullet through the center of her skull."

"A woman was killed by a sniper?"

"Just like Kate."

"Okay, well, Kate died ten years ago. Purely coincidence, Tony."

If the day had not been so emotionally draining, Tony might have chuckled at that comment, and told her in his best impression of Gibbs, _I don't believe in coincidences... _but the day had been emotionally draining and he didn't have the energy to impersonate his boss at the time. "Except this time... it wasn't. It was intentional."

She was confused for a moment but then a look of horror crossed her face as she realized what he meant. "So you're saying that they murdered that woman in the same way as Kate to get back at NCIS?"

He could see the fear now in her eyes, the absolute disgust for this dark side of humanity. "He's forcing Gibbs to relive all the tragedies in his life... I'm not sure how much more he can take, Lee... and there's still one more... the mack daddy of them all... that the killer hasn't forced Gibbs to relive yet."

"There's a bigger tragedy in his life than Kate?" Leah questioned, softly.

"The death of his first wife and daughter," Tony responded, just as softly.

Leah had never heard Gibbs speak of children. She knew that he'd been married four times. Tony had casually mentioned that his first wife had died, Gibbs had divorced the other three... but never in their conversations had a little girl come up. "How did... how did they die?"

Tony paused, green eyes searching her face. She understood now the urgency that Gibbs spoke to him with, about taking her, and running if they needed too. "Their NIS protection detail was shot and killed while driving them... their car went off the road... they died in the crash."

She blinked back a couple of tears. He was right... how much more could Gibbs take? And if this killer was hell bent on recreating his pain... "You think that the killer is going to choose someone close to Gibbs... someone that Gibbs looks to as his child... you think he's coming after you or Tim... don't you?"

"I think he's coming after both me _and _Tim," Tony replied. "Gibbs isn't married. The last tragic event was him losing _two _people he loved."

"You're... you're going to stop him before that, right?" Leah hiccuped, her tears letting loose. "Because I don't think... I can't lose you."

Tony gathered her into his arms and laid down with her. He let her snuggle close and cry. Truth was he was just as scared. Sergei had complete control over all of them right now. They really weren't sure of his next move. He could take Tony and Leah out to symbolize the deaths of Shannon and Kelly... he could go after Tim and Abby... Ducky, Jimmy... anyone that he could get his hands on to cause Gibbs more pain. It was unpredictable... and yet it was not.

He kissed the top of her head, holding onto her tightly. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise. Why do you think I packed those bags? I'm not letting it get to that point. We'll be long gone before Sergei even realizes it."

She sniffled and rubbed her tear stained face into his shirt. "If we run... do I get a fake ID? I haven't had one of those since college."

"Actually you get a whole new alias courtesy of Abby."

"Oh. Even better."

"It's not going to come that, Lee."

"It's not?"

Tony shook his head. "No. It's not. Because we have a recreation of our own for Sergei."

Leah looked up at him through her tears. "And what recreation is that?"

"Reenacting the demise of Kate's murderer."

"I take it he's no longer alive."

"No. He's not."

She fell quiet, burrowing deeper into his embrace, and he didn't offer any more information up to her. Tony didn't need to regale her the entire tale. It didn't matter to him that the person who had pulled the trigger to end Ari's life was in Israel... what mattered was that when the time came... one of them was standing on that step to put the bullet through Sergei's eyes.


	17. Blocked (Check)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Twilight", "Judgement Day" and "Check".

**A/N: **I am glad that Cote has finally broken her silence (little too late IMO), but to want more closure to Ziva because she felt it was rushed, I'm sorry... that was her fault and her fault alone leaving them a week before production began... what did she expect? I wish her all the best but I think there will never be a time for a proper return to her character.

Moving along... ironically "Judgement Day" was on while I edited this! And in case you missed it, I posted the first chapter in the next story of this series, _Hanging From Words, _please check it out :)

* * *

**"Blocked"**

Tim could sense that the atmosphere around NCIS was a little more somber these days. And although it had been quiet on the Sergei front since Diane's brutal murder... the team was still on high alert.

Tony had threatened to handcuff himself to Leah if she didn't carry the small gun he'd purchased for her back in November. Of course that weapon had been to keep her safe at home, and even though he'd made her get a license to carry... it pretty much stayed in her nightstand. Tim was glad that Delilah was in Dubai until the end of the month... at least they knew that Sergei was in the States. He'd strike them here first before going after someone they cared about overseas.

"Don't understand how I missed it, Ducky," Tony's voice carried from inside autopsy. "It was right there in front of my face. Perfectly staged."

"You missed it because you've chosen to block it, Anthony," Ducky replied, causing Tim to pause just outside the doors. "It was a trauma you did not want to relive or ever think about again."

Tim peered through the glass. Tony and Ducky were seated at the medical examiner's desk, sharing a pot of tea. _When the hell did Tony become a tea drinker? _But it wasn't so much the choice of beverage that worried the younger agent... it was the hunched shoulders of his senior agent. Tony was seated at that desk like someone who had been defeated. Tim could only recall seeing Tony like that _once... _after Jenny had died.

Tony held his head in his hands and gave it a little shake. "What if I had seen it _sooner_? We might have been on to Sergei's game faster... Diane might still be alive... and Gibbs... Ducky... he's worse off than he was after Kate."

Ducky opened his desk and found his bottle of Scotch and tumblers, deciding that it was probably best to have a wee bit of a night cap instead of tea. He poured the SFA a glass and slid it towards him. "Is he still staying with you and Leah?"

"She won't let him go home just yet. I told her what I could, of course, but his behavior is concerning her."

"His behavior is concerning all of us, dear boy. I'm just happy he has you and Leah to care for him right now."

"He isn't going to stay there forever, Ducky. Just because he promised no more going lone wolf..."

"You are still worried that he's going to go off on his own to handle this..."

Tony down his drink and slammed the tumbler down onto the desk. "Aren't you? Gibbs has a particular pattern of behavior. He wants us to work as a team but the moment one of us _could _get hurt going after these nut-jobs... he flies solo."

Tim let out a nervous breath. It was true. Gibbs did have that tendency... call it a character flaw. So how did they stop him this time? _Do you even make the attempt to stop him? _

Ducky poured Tony another glass. "Jethro feels a strong urge to protect you all, Anthony. It stems from the inability to protect Kelly all those years ago."

"Kelly wasn't his fault... he was overseas at the time."

"Yes. You and I can look at it rationally. But, Anthony, Leah travels overseas frequently... how would you feel if she were to die without you there to protect her?"

Tony's head jerked up and paused before devouring his drink. "I... I would blame myself."

Ducky reached out and pat the younger man on the shoulder. "Then you understand why Gibbs cannot look at Kelly's death rationally."

Tim sighed, closed his eyes tightly, and leaned back against the cool brick wall. They had all suffered tragedies in their lives... which was probably why they held an affinity for one another... but no one had suffered more than Gibbs. He just wanted all of this to end, to be put behind them so they could get back to the strange state that they called normal. He was exhausted. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. The whole nine yards.

And if he was this exhausted he could only imagine how tired Gibbs must be feeling...

"Probie?" Tony questioned, alerting Tim that he had left autopsy. "Are you okay?"

"No... are any of us?" Tim replied, opening his eyes. He saw Tony's green eyes darken with concern. "How... how much more can we take?"

"Felt the same way. Had a cup of tea and some Scotch with Ducky."

"Did it help?"

"Somewhat. I've realized a few things..."

Tim held his partner's gaze for a long, silent moment. "That Jenny's death wasn't your fault..."

Tony winced. He had beaten himself up real good over the years because of that. "Ducky was right... I blocked it because it was a trauma I didn't want to relive, which is why I didn't see it at the diner. Pieces of me will always feel guilty, Tim. I should have defied orders, I should have listened to Ziva's wishes and gut... instead I put my foot down with Ziva and told her that we had to follow Jenny's orders... until it was too late and there was nothing we could."

"You and Ziva probably would have died at that diner, too."

"Funny. She went off on her own so we wouldn't get hurt. Jenny and Gibbs had a lot in common. No wonder they clicked."

"Yeah."

Gently Tony reached out and grasped Tim's shoulder. He gave it a little shake before heading towards the elevator. "To answer your question, Probie," he called behind him as he walked, "as long as we have each other... we can take a lot more."


	18. Oh Baby, Baby, Baby (The Enemy Within)

**Warnings: **Slight spoilers for "The Enemy Within"

**A/N: **The only thing to make this season better... was if Delilah made an appearance. I liked that they seem to be taking the same approach to Zoe as they did to Breena and Delilah... keeping the relationship for the most part in the background. It didn't surprise me that Tony wanted to keep it secret, but didn't Abby ask him about a date in "House Rules"?

Minor plot hole aside lol.. I love, love, love Zoe and Tony.

This is kind of a silly one, to explain Tony's mellow behavior in this universe lol.

* * *

**"Oh, Baby, Baby, Baby."  
**

Ellie did notice that Tony was more mellow and really, given the circumstances of the last week or so... it was weird. She had tried to brush it off that he wasn't acting _that _strange... but Tim was right... there were no nicknames, no teasing, and the spilled coffee on the car magazine... surely that would have driven Tony insane.

And what was all this nonsense about giving Leah his SUV to buy himself a sports car? Suddenly she needed a bigger car? _Boy was he going to be furious when he saw that magazine..._

Getting back to the point... Tony hadn't gotten mad. Instead, he'd smiled and told Tim that accidents happened. Tim said things got even weirder when they went to interview Chelsea, their suspect's girlfriend. The SFA was going on about how horrible it must be for Kyle's mother... how he would hate to be the parent of a child that had suddenly turned traitor. He had even asked the rhetorical question, wondering if parents know that their children are going to become evil the first time they hold them._.. _a throw away comment about how their guest bedroom was going to make a nice baby room... someday.

It had Ellie and Tim trying to frantically put the pieces of the puzzle together... although... was it possible that Leah and Tony were going to have a baby? Or was all the baby talk, the fatherhood talk about the zeroing in on Breena Palmer's due date?

As they day went on Tony's mellow mood was driving Tim more crazy than Ellie, but she agreed to eavesdrop with them to set both their minds at ease, and well, since she helped the senior field agent snoop before... it was probably time to return the favor with Tim.

"Do you think you'll be able to get out of work on time tonight?" Leah asked, she had come in to bring Tony's handcuffs back... which Ellie decided she really didn't want to think about. "I took the test this morning..."

"The one that you stayed up most of the night writing..."

"No. Not that one. The one to see if I'm ovulating."

Ellie reached out quickly and slammed a hand over Tim's mouth before his gasp of surprise alerted their partner that they were hiding. Ovulating? That meant... oh snap, that meant they _were_ trying to have a baby! Which the more she thought about it... the more fascinated she was that Tony was acting so totally mellow. Shouldn't he be freaking out?

Tony chuckled and dropped his voice to a near whisper. "I thought we were keeping that a secret, sweetheart... you know... about us... trying to have a baby."

Leah matched his tone of voice. "I guess I'm just kind of... excited... if you catch my drift."

"You're dangerous."

"Very."

"Okay...," Tony said, loudly, "Let's get you out of here..."

Ellie could see from her spot that the SFA was leading his wife to the elevator, he had his arm around Leah's tiny frame, and she was leaning against him rather suggestively. Yeah, she would bet twenty bucks Tony didn't return right away. Straightening up and leaving her hiding place, she looked at McGee, blissfully. "A baby, McGee! No wonder he's been so...mellow. They're trying to get pregnant."

Tim was still in shock. "Tony? Mellow about becoming a dad? Doesn't seem likely."

"McGee... you do understand how a woman gets pregnant, right?" Ellie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh," Tim said, suddenly realizing what she meant. "Well that would certainly explain his mellowness."


	19. Basket Case (We Build, We Fight)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "We Build, We Fight"

**A/N: **Be honest with me... who else was surprised that Tony called Gibbs out about Rule 10? I know I write him calling Gibbs out but... when was the last time it actually happened on the show. Another, short, little, light hearted one here folks! Personally I chuckled at Tony's gift because I work with kids and always love a glass of wine at the end of a long day lol... and the rest was just... so Tony... but I'm thinking in this verse his wife would have been more on top of things haha.

* * *

**"Basket Case"**

"Did Breena like her gift?" Leah asked, her voice muffled as she hung up her winter jacket in the closet. She pulled her hair free from her cap and shook it out. A long day teaching behind her, she was looking forward to catching up with her husband.

"Indeed... the wine was a nice touch... my parents bought a bottle when I was born," Tony called to her, flipping through the sports page. "I think they were... confused at first but they warmed up to the idea."

Leah appeared in the living room of their apartment, looking a bit confused. "Wine? What are you talking about? I didn't put any wine in the baby basket." Her eyes went wide with realization. "Oh my God! Anthony! _That _basket was for Norah!"

Tony lowered the newspaper and his mouth dropped slightly. "You got your sister earplugs, a bottle of wine, and money for her birthday?"

"Yes! The earplugs were for... well... her neighbors are little loud if you know what I mean... the wine... well, who doesn't like wine! And... and she needs the money for the new place!" Leah cried exasperated. "You didn't see the basket with the yellow bow and the baby toys!"

"Ok, to be fair... I'm surprised that your sister hasn't needed baby toys... yet, " Tony quipped with a shrug.

Leah balled her fists up at her sides and glared at him. "Anthony! How could you possibly think that I would buy Jimmy and Breena earplugs, wine, and give them cash? Have you ever been to a baby shower before?"

Tony looked at her incredulously. "Do I look like the type that has been to a baby shower before? And I thought the earplugs would be good for when one parent is not on late night duty so they can sleep... and wine... what parent doesn't want to unwind with a nice glass after the little one is in bed? Or to celebrate something? And _who _doesn't need money? Especially first time parents!"

She looked like she was about to cry but at the same time like she was going to explode at him. "What am I suppose to give Norah? We're taking her out for her birthday Saturday. I do not think she's going to like baby toys."

He sighed and rubbed his temples. Standing up, he tossed his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry... I'm an idiot. Is that what you want me to say?"

"No. You're not an idiot... those reasons for those gifts were... legit."

"Really? Wow, I flew by the seat of my pants on that..."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Of course you did. And can I just add that only _you _could make such a... weird baby shower gift... charming."

Tony grinned and took a step closer to her. "Charming, huh?"

She laughed. "Yes... charming."

He gathered her up into his arms and kissed her. "And what do you want to do to that charming husband?"

"I want to take him downtown to the wine shop, have him repurchase the bottle of wine, then go to the pharmacy to get earplugs, the craft store to get a new basket, and then the ATM to get a hundred dollars out," Leah replied, raining on his parade. "And then _maybe _after you buy me dinner... I'll consider having sex with you."

"Wow... you're not making this easy for me tonight, are you?" Tony questioned, softly.

Leah smiled. "Absolutely. You're going to have to work a bit harder when you screw up."

Tony sighed and let go of her. "Fine. I'll get our coats."


	20. Bury and Fixate (Cadence)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Cadence"

**A/N: **I have never enjoyed a season of NCIS more than I am Season 12. I know a lot people would probably disagree with me but Ziva leaving was just thing that the writers needed to shake things up a bit. I feel like I'm watching a different show now, it's fresh (at least to me) and entertaining. Looking forward to Tuesday, especially after PP stirred the crazies up this morning lol.

* * *

**"Bury or Fixate"**

Leah came back from a yoga class with her best friend feeling spent and like she was coming down with something... again. After a few weeks of an on again and off again stomach bug she was seriously beginning to question if she should take that pregnancy test underneath the sink.

Finding Tony sitting on the sofa, dressed in sweats, flipping mindlessly through the channels at one in the afternoon, well... that stopped her from going right to the bathroom. Perhaps she wasn't pregnant... maybe they both were fighting this bug that had invaded their home.

"Hi," she said, brightly, "You're home early."

"Gibbs sent me home when he found out I went to New Jersey last night," Tony supplied.

Leah was confused. She had thought that he been in Rhode Island... when had he gone to New Jersey... and why exactly did he go to New Jersey? She had spent the night at her friend's apartment to go to brunch and then yoga so she had no idea that Tony had not even been home. "You went to New Jersey?"

Tony looked at her, his green eyes sad and slightly dull. "Yeah. Met up with my old roommate from RMA for dinner."

She put her yoga mat down by the door and went to sit with him on the sofa. Something was bothering him. Something big time. "Did it not go well?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I never talk about RMA. It isn't who I was. And I turned a blind eye to what was happening to my roommate because I was scared I'd be bullied next. I foolheartedly trusted my mentor that he was going to be an end to it for all students and not just his basketball players."

"You were just a kid, Tony," Leah reminded him.

"We were all just kids," Tony snapped, angrily flipping through the channels. "I should have stood up for my roommate. I should have asked what was happening to him and I never did. I looked the other way."

Leah knowledge of his past was limited, despite being married. It was a puzzle that she was slowly putting together. When Ellie had texted her the day before and told her that Tony had been on the Dean's List and a star basketball player as well as a flag bearer... she had been slightly surprised. He very rarely spoke of his high school years even though it seems that RMA was what vaulted him into the sights of Ohio State for basketball. "What would have happened if you did stand up for him?"

Tony looked at her, distantly. "Discipline. Horrible forms of discipline. Degrading, demeaning... they drove a girl recently to commit suicide. I found a little bit of kinship there at RMA, maybe not as much as when I was at Ohio State but... most kids were kids like me that were broken and needed direction." He smiled, listlessly at her, "While little seven year old Leah was having tea parties and pretend weddings... seventeen year old Tony was struggling to figure out his place in the world."

"Okay, let's get something clear... I did not have tea parties and pretend weddings."

"What did you have? Pretend digs?"

"Yes. I used to drive my mother crazy digging up our back yard looking for artifacts."

He smiled, sadly at her. Reaching out, he pulled her close to him, and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled into his embrace and figured the pregnancy test could wait until later. Tony needed her more at the moment. It was true that the had come from the same... yet different worlds. She had grown up with parents that had supported her dreams... even if that meant digging up her mother's gardens. But Tony had been alone, searching for a place to belong.

Tony knew why he had buried his past at RMA. He felt guilty about Travis. _I have a tricky relationship with the past. I either bury it or I fixate on it. _"Hey," he said, breaking the silence, "you're home early."

Leah closed her eyes and fought off another wave of nausea. "Wasn't feeling that well. But it's a good thing I came home. You needed someone to snuggle."

"Could have snuggled the cat."

"I see where I rank."

He chuckled. "You always rank above the cat."

She shifted and looked up at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Tony kissed her, softly, "Yes... because I've finally found where I belong." He watched the smile that graced her features and her eyes fluttered shut as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. He finally realized that she had found where she belonged as well.


	21. No Answer (Cabin Fever)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Cabin Fever"

**A/N: **Liked the episode well enough, glad the whole Sergei thing is done. Onward and upwards to bigger things, maybe? This popped into my head while watching last night. I would think after the connection was made that Ari was Sergei's half brother... someone would have tried to call and warn Ziva. I find myself torn about the possibility of her return this season, I guess if the storyline made sense and she wasn't brought back just to break up Tony and Zoe and have Tiva ride off into the sunset, I would be okay with it, but I don't have hope that the writers could do her return well. They never wrote her well when Cote was there. Of, FYI this takes places after Leah has informed Tony that she's pregnant, AKA the first chapter of "Tiny Photographs" :)

* * *

**"No Answer"**

Tony came home to find Leah asleep on the sofa, buried underneath a heavy fleece blanket and wearing his favorite Ohio State hoodie. After a trying forty-right hours, it was nice to be home and although she was asleep, he was happy to see her. He had only checked in on her once that day and he felt pretty awful. She was having a horrible time with morning sickness and he had only asked if she needed anything once.

Leah wasn't complaining. She hadn't said a word when he told her that he was going to be working later, that Gibbs had taken off for a few days to "clear his head." But still... their first child and he was leaving her in the lurch.

He dropped down into his easy chair and pulled off his boots, quietly putting them on the floor. Tony sat there watching her for a moment. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Sergei was dead. He'd seen the body himself. Gibbs, his team, Leah... they were all safe. For now at least. Until the next threat came along and they had to deal with it.

Tony was just content to sit there until morning he was so tired but his phone vibrated. _You have got to be kidding me... _

_She didn't answer,_ was all Abby had typed. But he knew, immediately what she was referring too. Ziva.

_Sorry. Wish I could say I knew why, _Tony typed back. Truth was... he didn't understand her silence. Soul searching, sure, but to not call her friends once and a while... it was just... odd... almost like she was dead.

_Do you think she's okay?_

_Our Ninja? Yeah... sure she's fine. Nothing can take her down._

Leah stirred on the sofa when his phone vibrated again, but she quickly settled back to sleep. Tony looked down at his message. _You're probably right. Sergei might not have known about Ziva. I'm worrying too much, aren't I? _

Tony smiled and gave a shake of his head. Abby had been worrying about Ziva for a long time now, even if she had moved on from their friend departing, but something like Sergei and it got her all on edge again. He quickly typed a response, to calm her frayed nerves. _No. You're not but... it's out of our hands. She _left _it out of our hands for a reason. Get some rest, Abs. It's well earned. _Leaning back in his chair, he sighed and realized that it was well earned indeed.

* * *

_short i know, but I hope you liked it :) _


	22. Senior (The Artful Dodger)

**Warning: **Spoilers for "The Artful Dodger"**  
**

**A/N: **Ugh, the trolls are back out. Must be spring they're coming out from underneath their rocks lol. Have two tags for this episode, so here is the first one! I always enjoy when Robert Wagner comes back and I enjoyed this one. Not my favorite this year, nothing has yet to top "Grounded" for me.

* * *

**"Senior"**

Was his break-up mix playing? Tony was puzzled when he got to his apartment that night... Gibbs had sent his "evolving" ass home... but he expected to find Leah in front of the TV with an old black and white movie and _not _listening to music he would listen to when he'd been dumped.

Tony shut the door and nervously glanced into the living room... and saw his father. "Dad?"

Senior looked up and tried to smile but there was something in his eyes. "Oh, Junior. Didn't expect you would be home this early. Leah said you were working late... again. Son, you've only been married a few months... I hope things are... okay?"

"Yeah, Dad, things are great," Tony assured him. _Better than great, Dad, we're having a baby._ But he hadn't even worked up the courage to tell Gibbs yet._  
_

"Good... good... I'm happy for you, Junior," his father said, glancing into his empty wine glass.

Tony shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over the easy chair. "Dad... what are you doing here... and in your pajamas?"

Senior sighed, heavily, as Leah came into the living room and brought him a bowl of soup. "Linda left me. The wedding is off, Junior... I thought you should know since you... you were my best man."

He had never seen his father so _broken. _Okay, once, when his mother had passed away... but Tony was slightly paralyzed. Thank goodness for Leah, who sat down on the sofa with Senior and rubbed his back while instructing him to eat the soup. "Her mom's recipe... Katherine is a great cook, Dad... and Leah's really great at recreating those dishes... think you'll like it."

"It was what she used to give us when we were going through a tough break-up," Leah told him with a smile.

"Thanks, but I'm not very hungry," Senior said.

"Dad... come on... you really should eat something," Tony insisted. His father gave him somewhat of glare and he was going to argue...

"Tony can you help me with something in the kitchen?"

Frowning he followed his wife into the kitchen, noticed that it was all cleaned up and that she didn't need his help at all. Leah crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a stern look. Tony sighed, "Listen, I've never seen him like this... I don't know what to do!"

Leah continued to look at him sternly. "We should tell him."

Tony shook his head. "No. I haven't even told Gibbs or the team."

"He's your father and he's depressed."

"We can find some other way to cheer him up, okay?"

"Anthony."

"Damn it, I _hate _when you do that and I _hate _that it works."

Leah smiled, sweetly at him and pat him on the chest. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "It might make him feel better... better than warmed up soup from last night is going to make him feel."

Tony relented. It was better for him in the long run anyways. _What did Steve always say? Happy wife, happy life? _He turned on his heel and went back into living room with Leah. Senior still hadn't touched the soup. Tony looked at Leah as he sat down on one side of his father, Leah on the other. "So, um, Dad... we... there's something... we ah... we want to tell you."

Senior looked up, a worried expression on his face at his son. "You're not sick, are you son?"

"What? No, Dad, I'm not sick," Tony insisted.

"We think we have something that will cheer you up," Leah interjected.

"I appreciate your hospitality, my dear, but I'm not sure what is going to cheer me up," Senior replied, sadly.

Leah placed her hand over her father-in-law's and smiled at him. "Well... what if we told you that you're going to be a grandpa?"

Senior blinked, shifting his gaze between Tony and Leah. "Are you... are you... pregnant?"

Tony watched as Leah pulled her tee shirt tighter against her body to show off her little baby bump that was starting to grow. His father's eyes lit up... perhaps even filled with tears just a little. "Bet you didn't think you'd see the day..." His father cut him off by pulling him into a tight, brief hug, and then engulfing Leah into his arms.

"This is wonderful news," Senior said, smiling, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You're the first person we've told, Dad," Tony replied, concerned to see his father this depressed.

Senior gave him that same forced smile. "My lips are sealed, son."

Leah gave her husband a worried look. Two months ago Tony had confronted Gibbs out of a stupor in this very room... but that approach wasn't going to work with his father. It was clear how lost Tony was by the look on his face. "Luckily... we haven't torn the guest room apart yet so you have a place to stay."

"Thank you, darling," Senior sighed, dropping his head slightly. "I think... think I'm going to call it a night and go to bed."

"Dad... you'll feel better in the morning... honestly," Tony said, smiling at his father hopefully. His father just nodded and disappeared to the guest room.

Leah flopped backwards on the sofa. "Ouch. I don't think I've seen a break-up this bad since my best friend in high school was dumped."

Tony frowned. "He's been dumped before... he's really taking this one personally."

She looked at him, gently. "I think he really loved her."

He slid over on the sofa and put his arm around her and rubbed her belly, affectionately. "Love hurts."

"Yeah... would you be playing this break-up mix if we were ever to break-up?"

"Don't joke about that. We're not breaking up."

"Hypothetically speaking..."

"Hypothetically speaking... I would be listening to this mix and getting punch ass drunk."

Leah chuckled and pat his cheek. "Are you hungry? I can heat up some soup for you."

Tony kissed her cheek and told her to stay where she was. He had come home early to spend a quiet evening with his wife and make her dinner. Just because his father showed up, he was not going to alter that plan.


	23. Forward Movement (The Artful Dodger)

**Warning: **Spoilers for "The Artful Dodger"**  
**

**A/N: **Little one shot to tag to this episode. Can I rant for a second? I have to say I'm disappointed in seeing new writers pop on this site writing bashing fics, "Saint Tim" fics. Tim is a great character, you don't need to bash the rest of the characters to make him look good! Also, making him into such a "saint" really turns me off. I don't even read fics where characters are bashed ridiculously to make Tony look good. Bashing fics are just in poor taste IMO. I'll probably take heat for that, but I'm tried of seeing these relationships between these characters trashed by these writers to make their favorite look good.

Rant over. I'm cranky. It's snowing. AGAIN. Hope you enjoy this little one shot!

* * *

**"Forward Movement"**

Tony loved his father despite the older man's short comings. He just had never been able to tell him that. Thanks to Gibbs, perhaps his father finally realized what he had been feeling all those years. "Sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport?"

Senior put his jacket on and shook his head. "Your lovely wife isn't feeling very well. Your place is here, son."

He peered behind his shoulder, down the hall at the bedroom. Leah had been in bed all day with morning sickness. Her friend Meghan had come by to take care of her while Tony was at work... and working late at that thanks to his father wandering off with their murder suspect. But... there was nothing Tony could do about that now and Gibbs had verbally head slapped both DiNozzo men. "See you soon then?"

"I wouldn't miss my grandson or granddaughter coming into this world," Senior said with a sad smile.

"You could always come back before then you know," Tony pointed out. "Don't want you to face this break-up by yourself." _I really am worried about you._

"Already told you I'm going off to Europe. I'll be fine."

"Okay, yeah, but when you get back from Europe... why don't you come here?"

Senior saw the sincerity in his son's eyes. Their relationship had never been a pleasant one. It wasn't that Tony didn't try... his son's efforts were just never met with much enthusiasm on his part. "Sure. I'll call you when I get back."

Tony felt a weight lift on his shoulders. Perhaps things were going to be okay. He was still a little upset that his father was more comfortable talking to McGee than he was his own son... but Tony was more comfortable talking to Gibbs...

Leah was calling for him. Senior gestured towards the bedroom. "Better go take care of her son, she's carrying the future generation of the DiNozzos."

"Yeah, that's a little terrifying," Tony admitted, freely. "I mean... months from now there's going to be this... little human... that depends on me."

"You'll do great son," Senior said, grinning, proudly.

"How do you figure?"

"Because... you've always been a better man than me, Anthony. Even when you were eight bringing me my drinks."

Tony licked his lips as his wife called for him again, this time sound a bit more anxious. His father reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze, silently telling him it was okay to go. As he turned, he heard his father say, "This is all a part of your forward movement, son. Becoming a father... hope you don't let your fear hold you back like I did."

He quickly turned and looked back, but his father was gone but it was the most heart felt and profound thing that his father had _ever _said to him and Tony would hold onto that for the rest of his life.


	24. Committed (Status Update)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Status Update", not edited so pardon any mistakes :)

**A/N: **I'm sorry but is there no sanity left in this fandom? What was so awful about last night's episode? I loved it! Last night's episode was probably one of the best of the season. Everyone was well balanced, there wasn't an over focus on McGee/Delilah, Tony and Gibbs did some tag teaming which we haven't seen in forever, and it had some great humorous moments. It had a, to borrow MW's term, classic NCIS feel to it. Tony and McGee have always been my favorite relationship on the show, but damn, Tony and Ellie are really, really starting to grow on me. I like the easy, breezy nature to them. Loved Tim's "You two shouldn't be left alone..." comment lol. And Tony calling McGee _honey _I nearly lost it lol.

Can someone please refresh my memory? When was Agent Larsen on before? I don't remember her... and also she was the reason that this didn't top "Grounded" for me, it just seemed out of place.

Delilah and Leah tag here, where Delilah finds out that Tony and Leah are having a baby. (Gibbs knows at this point too)

* * *

**"Committed"**

Leah was seated behind her desk. Delilah perched her chair at the entrance to her office and paused for just a moment. She's come here hoping to get some insight into _how _her friend was making it work with Tony. Tim seemed determined to tear them apart with his ridiculous texting and calling and emailing. Had Tony been like that when Leah had gone to Egypt last summer?

Delilah knocked on the open door. Leah looked up and smiled. "Delilah! I didn't know you were in town!"

"Work related. I was on my way back to my apartment when I decided to come by," Delilah answered.

"Your apartment? I thought you were living with Tim when you were in Washington?" Leah asked, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

Delilah maneuvered her chair into Leah's office and shut the door. "He didn't know I was back in town until this morning. He thought I was still in Dubai."

Leah put her pen down. She had been in the middle of correcting mid-terms, but this was a little bit more important than grading tests. "Why didn't you let him know that you were coming home?"

"Couldn't. Undercover."

"And Tim's upset?"

"Furious."

"He's only that upset because he loves you."

Delilah looked at her incredulously. "Is that what you tell yourself when Tony does something infuriating?"

Leah laughed and shook her head. "No, I have to remind myself how much _I _love him." She took a deep breath and leaned back. "Relationships are hard, especially when you're in one with a federal agent, Delilah. So... it's equally as hard for you and Tim. You work with classified information for the D.O.D and Tim works in a federal agency. Unfortunately your jobs mean you naturally keep more secrets from one another. You just have to... separate the work secrets, the ones that need to be kept... from the ones that should not be kept."

"How many secrets have you kept from Tony?"

"None. If he asks me something, I tell him."

"Was he... was he ever jealous of anyone that you work with?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tim is convinced I'm sleeping with my boss."

Leah shrugged her shoulders. "Not that I recall. Of course, all the men I work with are considerably older than me and well, are not as attractive as my husband, so it was never an issue. When we were dating he'd get jealous if anyone would look at me in the bar. I thought it was cute."

Delilah scoffed. "I'm not finding Tim so cute right now. Nothing has happened for him to even suspect anything. But he won't let it go! He keeps texting me and calling me and leaving voicemails... if this is what marriage is... I think I want out."

She could see the frustration in Delilah's eyes, Leah thought back to when her and Tony were struggling through her issues with Ziva. It had almost drive her to the point that she had walked away forever. "You really should talk to him before things get even worse."

"Committed relationships... " Delilah said with a roll of her eyes.

"But it's worth it... despite the headaches," Leah chuckled.

"I'll talk to him tonight. I need... I need some space."

"You sound like Tony. He says that all the time about me when I'm angry."

Delilah could believe it. She had seen Leah angry at Tony before. Smiling, she turned her chair slightly. "Do you want to get some lunch? I'm starving and looks like the food cart is finally open."

Leah stood and grabbed her wallet and keys. "Yeah, food sounds great!" She paused when she saw that Delilah was eyeing her with wide eyes. And then she realized that she was wearing a blouse that really showed that she was pregnant. _Tony! You were supposed to tell everyone! _"Oh... yeah... surprise? Tony and I are having a baby..."

"Why didn't Tim tell me?" Delilah asked reaching out and putting her hand on Leah's belly. "This is great!"

"Tony probably hasn't worked up the courage to tell him yet," Leah said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh... so this is a secret..."

"Yeah..."

"But it's not a work one so what do I tell Tim?"

"It's kind of a work one... since Tony and Tim work together..."

"Ah... loophole."

Leah bit down on her lower lip. "Well, I never said there weren't loopholes."

Delilah chuckled. "Promise. I won't tell Tim."

"Well," Leah said, "If Tony doesn't get his butt moving on it... it might fall to you to tell him or I could be on my way to the hospital and Tim wouldn't have a clue."

"Why do you think he's holding back telling them?"

"I think he's scared what they're going to think of him."

She reached out and grabbed Leah's hand. Delilah knew how Tony had changed over the last year. He had matured... but retained some of that person that people knew him to be... "Tony is going to be a great dad."

Leah smiled and put her free hand on her tummy. "Yeah. I keep telling him that. But it's hard for him... I think not having his father around as a kid really effected how he sees himself as a dad... but I know he'll be different than Senior. Because unlike his father, he's completely committed to me and to the baby."

Delilah grinned and nodded. She was glad that she had come here to talk to Leah... it had put a lot of things back into perspective for her, plus it was nice to see a friend that wasn't related to this case in anyway. "Well," she said, softly, "I guess being committed doesn't suck after all."


	25. Secrets Can Be Sexy (Status Update)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Status Update", not edited so pardon any mistakes :)

**A/N: **I'm glad I'm not the only one sick of the negativity. It's just coming at this show from all corners. I'm refusing to let them ruin my enjoyment of the show. Anyone needs a positive place on social media, feel free to follow me on twitter :) Just a short little, fun drabble. Enjoy!

**amaia- **_You inspired this one by reminding me of that line!_

**None- **_Not sure if Tim is going to pop the question to her at the end of the season, but if he does, I won't object. I really like Delilah. And it's nice to see Tim and Tony in real relationships for once. _

**patncisfan- **_Thank you :)_

* * *

**"Secrets Can Be Sexy"**

Some secrets could be sexy. Actually, if he thought about it...some secrets could be very sexy.

Tony was going with that advice when after they had rescued Tim and Delilah from Malik he arrived home, tired, relieved, _needing _Leah and his wife confronted him with the fact that he _still _had not told his colleagues that they were expecting their first child. "Oh, well, secrets can be sexy, you know."

Leah quirked an eyebrow. "Sexy?" she asked, looking down at the growing baby bump. "This is sexy? I know I'm not huge yet... but nothing about not fitting into your clothes anymore is sexy."

"I think you're _very _sexy."

"Forget it, Tony. I'm not in the mood."

Tony frowned and stuck his lower lip out in a pout. "Can we at least cuddle? I had a rough day..."

Leah playfully rolled her eyes and nodded her head. "Yes," she slid over on the couch and pat the empty spot. "Come here."

He grinned at her and plopped down onto the sofa, pulling her into his arms and giving her a sweet kiss. Tony loved coming home and getting to spend time with her like this, it helped him unwind, helped him forget the pressures of his job... and sometimes it helped to get her in the mood. "So... tell me about your day?"

She nuzzled his chest with her cheek. "Taught two lectures on ancient Rome... which led to a rather interesting discussion about crucifixion, and then I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to kids try to talk me into better midterm grades."

"Any good excuses?"

"Plenty."

"Care to share?"

Leah smiled at him, cheekily. "Secrets can be sexy."

Tony chuckled. "Oh sure... use my own saying against me."

She kept smiling at him and he licked his lips before capturing hers in a passionate kiss. "Tony," she whispered when he pulled away, "I'm in the mood now."

He grinned as he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to their bedroom. Yes, secrets were very, very sexy.

* * *

_BTW I started a Season 4 AU Leah... thinking of posting it in the next few days..._


	26. Threatened (Patience)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Patience", Season 10

**A/N:** I was kind of hoping for a little more tension between Tony and McGee, or even McGee and Gibbs, instead they really just made Tim look like a spoiled brat, so I've attempted to right the ship so to speak by giving a reason as to why Tim acted this way. Don't know if it works or not, but eh, I like it lol.

Set before that last scene in the bullpen where Jimmy showed up with champagne (or sparkling cider perhaps?) and Gibbs was looking at his team fondly. Enjoy!

* * *

**"Threatened"**

Tony wondered how long his partner was going to give him the cold shoulder.

It had been Director Vance that didn't want to read McGee in on the case, not Gibbs or Tony. And considering the time that Vance had handed the case to Gibbs... in the midst of their hunt for Bodner, Tony could understand why the Director had wanted to keep it quiet. Of course, none of that was going to help matters. McGee was angry that he had been left out and Tony wondered if he still had that insecure side of him.

Ellie, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by it. Even her assessment that she wasn't read in while they debriefed in the conference room had been said more as an assurance to McGee than a gripe. Perhaps her background in the NSA had something to do with that...

"Hey... Leah thinks I'm in Atlantic City for a few days... want to order pizza tonight and binge watch _The Twilight Zone?"_

_"_Delilah is home for good, remember? And if Leah thinks you're away in New Jersey for a few days... guess we can't go back to your place."

Tony frowned at the sting in his partner's tone of voice. Ellie looked up from her laptop, mildly concerned. The senior field agent figured she hadn't seen them in a spat like this and she didn't know what to expect. "Are you going to be mad at me for the rest of your life, Tim? Vance told Gibbs to read one of us in... Gibbs picked me. I had no control over it."

McGee didn't respond and kept working, eyes narrowed on his computer. Ellie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Tony decided to give up. He was tired, had missed his flight to Atlantic City, and just wanted to get out of Dodge for a few days. "Fine. Don't talk to me. I should probably go home and let Leah know where I am. But, just so we're clear... you're acting a tad bit childish."

His blunt statement got the reaction he was looking for. McGee slammed the drawer his was rummaging in shut and glared at Tony. "Childish? This coming from the man that walked around like his ego had been wounded when Ziva asked me to help her track Bodner and we left you out."

"None of us should have had our hands in that pie, McGee," Tony countered, calmly. "That was an illegal operation. You were covering up your wrong doings by leaving me out, not following orders from higher-ups. My ego was wounded, yes, but it was wounded because after all those years, Ziva still didn't trust me. This had nothing to do with trusting you, Tim."

"It didn't?" McGee snapped, his fists clenching. "What ever happened to _we're a team, probie_?"

Tony's brow furrowed. "Director Vance didn't think we needed to read you or Ziva in until the time came. We read you in when the time came."

McGee scoffed. "You locked me out of MTAC."

"Um, they locked me out too," Ellie chimed in, reminding the two men that she was there.

"We didn't have the okay from Vance yet to let you in on it," Tony responded, ignoring Ellie. "You have an issue with being kept in the dark, take it up with him."

Silence fell over the squadroom as Tony picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He gave a brief nod towards Ellie and headed towards the elevator. "I felt threatened, okay!" McGee yelled after him. Tony turned. "I felt threatened that Gibbs was going to go back to treating me like the inexperienced Probie again."

Tony took a deep breath. "Come on, McGee, that's ridiculous. You've come a long way since those days."

McGee shook his head. "Have I? It's clear to me that he doesn't trust me as much as he trusts you. I was just getting used to being called by my name, by getting opportunities where my other skills, besides my computer skills, were being used. I was getting used to being treated like he treats you."

"You mean the slaps to the back of the head?" Tony tossed out. "Really? You want to be treated like that?"

"DiNozzo. He hasn't slapped you on the back of the head in over a year."

"Seriously?"

McGee's mouth opened slightly. Had Tony not really noticed that? "Yeah! Seriously! I was excited to be going with Gibbs overseas and then today I realized something... he left you behind because he trusts you, he trusts in your ability to lead when he's not around. He doesn't obviously feel that way about me."

Tony frowned even more. "He took you to Russia because he trusts you to have his back, Tim. Actually, if he had no trust in you at all... you wouldn't even be here. You'd still be in Norfolk or perhaps Vance would have transferred you to the Cyber Division and kept you there. Who knows? All I know is that feeling threatened because you weren't read in on a cold case is silly. Tell him, Ellie."

Ellie's eyes went wide for a second and she nodded. "Completely silly, Tim. You and Tony are different kinds of agents, but that doesn't mean you're both not great at what you do... because you are. Gibbs knows that. Even if he doesn't tell you that."

"Listen to our little probie, McGee," Tony said, gesturing with his thumb at Ellie, "She's quite smart."

"It just... it was my father all over again... I wasn't good _enough," _McGee mumbled, sitting down at his desk.

Tony dropped his bag and strode into the middle of the bullpen. "You're plenty good enough, Tim. And if it makes you feel any better... I didn't like the fact that the Director wanted us to keep you and Ziva...and then Ellie... in the dark until the time came. We could have used all our assets to bring this guy in sooner... but... rule eighteen"

McGee nodded and sighed, "It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission..."

"And now that the Op is over... rule eleven..."

"When the job is done, walk away."

Tony tossed him an easy grin. He picked his bag up and threw it over his shoulder. "Alright my little probies. See you in a few days. Think I'm going to take my wife to NYC... might as well capitalize on the time off, right?"

McGee watched him leave...again... and stopped him... again. Only this time he stated, "I'm sorry, Tony. I was acting like a spoiled brat."

"Don't worry about it," Tony said with a wave of his hand as he kept walking, "We all have our off days."


	27. Feel (Troll)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Troll".

**A/N: **I'm going to need some serious doses of fluff after this season ending arc, I just know it :(.

* * *

**"Feel"**

Leah liked to sing to the baby while she did chores. Often times Tony found comfort in that but today, when he opened the door to the soon to be nursery and found her prepping things to put away into boxes, it rattled him.

Watching a sixteen year old boy blow himself up had done that to him. And if the kid had used a heavier explosive, Tony and Gibbs probably would have been killed in the kid's suicide as well. He froze, watching Leah, dressed in leggings and white top that showed off her baby bump, her long hair down and wavy, shining in the sun that filtered through the window. Bradley had started out like this, a small baby in his mother's womb. Where had everything gone wrong?

"Tony, I didn't hear you come in. Are you here checking up on me again?" Leah asked with a smirk when she looked up and saw him standing there.

"No," Tony simply answered, surprised at how hollow his voice sounded. "No. I..."

She saw something in his eyes, the way he stood. Leah got to her feet, her hands rubbing her belly after she stood. "Tony?" she asked, her voice a meek whimper.

He felt the rush of emotions slam into him. He moved faster than he had moved since the explosion to grasp her tightly into his arms. Pressing his face into her hair, soaking in the smell of her shampoo, Tony let a few tears out as he whispered, "I love you. I love our baby."

Leah felt him tremble, realized that he needed her to be the rock. A reverse role for them, but sometimes required with his job. "I know," she replied, closing her eyes tightly and burrowing into his embrace. "Do you... do you need to talk?"

Tony shook his head. "No. Just... let me hold you a while longer."

She wasn't sure how long they stood there. To her it felt like hours because Tony was _never _this silent. Until finally he whispered, darkly, "I watched a sixteen year old boy blow up a city bus. I was inches from that bus. I should be dead."

"But you're not."

"I know. I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Saw you having to raise our baby alone."

Leah shuddered. That thought alone terrified her. She bit back tears knowing if she cried it would not help him. "Tony... it's going to be okay, you know that right?"

Tony kissed her, hugged her a bit more tightly and sighed, "Yeah. I know, eventually it will be okay. But right now, it's not."

"And that's okay too. No one is asking you to be a robot, not to feel," Leah pointed out to him.

"Sometimes, sweetheart," Tony whispered to her, closing his eyes, "I wish I was a robot. I wish that I felt nothing at all."


	28. Child's Play (The Lost Boys)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Lost Boys", and my own story "Comes Falling Down"

**A/N:** Ok, so, I think... THINK I have a way to keep Dornie alive in this verse... but that will be a multi-chapter fic over the summer ;)... otherwise I need to rewrite "Someone Like You" lol. This arc has totally screwed up my "Tiny Photographs" timeline *shakes fist*

By the way, I have not seen "Neverland" yet although from Twitter I can deduce what happened. Can I just say though what a bunch of spoiled, rotten brats that exist in this fandom? Saw so many tantrums on Twitter because things didn't go the way THEY wanted them. This would be why I do not visit the hashtag on Twitter but just tweet in my own little world lol

My thoughts on "Lost Boys": was surprised the heavier Tony focus, those last ten minutes were well done, acted, directed, music choice was perfect... made it very, very powerful.

* * *

**"Child's Play"**

Leah locked up her office for the weekend and headed outside. It was warm. Summer heat and humidity had arrived, and with it the uncomfortableness of being pregnant. She really wanted an iced coffee but had already drank her one allotted cup of the day. There was a nice little smoothie stand on campus...

_NCIS agent killed in Cairo. _

She stopped, hearing the television in a colleague's office. Briefly so caught glances of footage, a hotel decimated, and she knew the fatality was not Tony, she knew he was in D.C... but it still sent shivers up her spine... her heart racing... until she stepped out of the building and found him standing at the foot of the steps with a mango smoothie in his hand.

"Know you usually like a coffee at this time... heard you've been having mango smoothies instead," Tony explained.

"I heard... the explosion on the news... it's not... it's not Tim is it?" Leah asked, cautiously, prepared for the worst.

Tony shook his head and blinked some tears back. "No. Tim wasn't in Cairo at the time... interrogating a witness on an aircraft carrier. Leah... I was... _relieved _when we learned the casualty wasn't Tim. Does that make me a horrible person? Ned was still my friend... but he isn't... he isn't Tim."

Leah saw his hand shaking, the one that was holding onto her smoothie. In the last few days she was seeing her husband be completely run into the ground, beaten and tossed about in the game of life. How much more could Tony take before he snapped? Before he broke down and lost it? "I didn't know Ned... but I think... I think he'd understand."

"We should have stopped it. We should have seen it sooner. Who knew kids could be so dangerous?"

"Kids?"

"Child's play, Leah, that's all this is to them. But people are dying... more people will die if we don't stop them."

She clenched her fists at her sides. "Doesn't sound like child's play to me, Anthony."

He laughed, bitterly. "No. Suppose you're right."

Leah decided that she had to take the reigns, that she had to pull Tony back before he did something... well stupid... something like going after a crazed man holding his partner hostage on his own. "You only got one smoothie? What are you going to drink?"

Tony snapped to life and looked at the smoothie in his hand. "Don't know... I just was kind of on autopilot."

"Come on, let's go get you a smoothie too."

"Strawberry banana for me. You can have your tropical fruitiness."

Leah snatched the plastic cup out of his hand and in the process squished her pregnant belly between them. She felt his arms find their way around her and his head dropped on her shoulder. He wasn't completely out of the dark just yet but it was a start.


	29. Speed of Light (The Lost Boys)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Lost Boys", "Kill Ari", "Twilight"

**A/N: **So, I'm finally caught up. All I can say is WOW. I don't think it was so much of a cliffhanger to leave us wondering about if Gibbs lives, but wondering about what happens to Luke, what does Tony do? Did the team back home stop the attack on the Supreme Court? This arc was frightening in the sense that it is completely realistic... teens would be the easiest ones for terrorists to radicalize. I just would have liked more of the team, but I can over look that because the guest cast was fantastic. Maybe more of a team focus in the SP?

Someone requested a Tony perspective at the airport, **VGLittleBear, **I think it was you :) So, here it is! And I promise I'm working on updates for my longer fics, hopeful to post them this week :)

* * *

**"Speed of Light"**

Ten years ago they had met a flag draped coffin on a hot tarmac in Indiana.

Tony had told his wife that story last night, when he couldn't sleep, when he had been tossing and turning so much that he woke her up. It had been raining when they loaded Kate's casket into the plane in Washington... blistering sunshine in Indiana when they unloaded it. He recalled how hot and humid the air was and how it had pressed in around him, how when he put his hand over his heart like he did now... the pressure, it had felt like someone was pressing weights onto his chest.

Kate was gone. The mantra had drummed on and on in his head. Now, he could add Ned was gone. Drums, pressure... when did it stop?

Just that morning, before coming to the airport, Tony had dressed in his best suit and gone with Leah to a doctor's appointment. He heard the heartbeat of his baby, saw the tiny little fingers and toes on the sonogram and left with very little hope for his son's future. It was a dark and perilous world they were bringing this child into.

NCIS, Gibbs, Tony... they would never be able to stop all the danger before the baby made his entrance. As the casket was put into a van for transport back to headquarters, he was struck with the idea that one life had ended... another one would be beginning.

Such was the ebb and flow of life. Kate had died but she lived on in nephews and nieces. He'd lost Kate and gained Ziva... in a sense lost Ziva and gained Ellie...

He had lost a few people in the line of duty before but Kate was his first partner. All the others he had walked away from, and Danny had died years after their partnership and friendship had ended. He wondered just how close had he come to losing Tim. He kept thinking that _if _Tim had not gone to question their witness, he would have been at the hotel helping Ned. _It should have been two coffins... _Tim had almost sobbed on the phone when Tony called to check on him.

Guilt was something that would live with Tim forever.

Tony still had nightmares about Kate. Still felt the blood on his face and the shock that she had her life taken away from her right before his eyes. Leah would wake him from those dreams, gently run her fingers through his hair and kiss the demons away. _Be grateful that you weren't there Tim... that you didn't see it happen... _

Otherwise, a person would be haunted by those images forever.

And lately, they had enough images to haunt them. Bradley blowing himself up on that bus, Luke's parents being brutally murdered... the explosion that had claimed Ned's life. There was plenty of demons circling around them, waiting for the right moment to devour them.

* * *

"I made you snicker doodles," Leah said softly was she entered their bedroom. "Your mom's recipe... your favorite."

Tony looked up from his case file, the documents, the photographs all spread out on their bed. Quickly he covered up the crime scene photos of the Harris' murder. She didn't need to see loving parents dead in their home... brutally murdered. He saw her eyes flicker with some fear and worry. He tried to assuage her fears by offering her a gentle smile. "You didn't have too."

Leah crawled onto the bed, careful not to disrupt the papers he had not covered from her. "After our dog died, my mom made us chocolate chip cookies and lemonade to help us feel better... I know... I know that losing an agent isn't the same as losing a dog but... cookies always make things better, right?"

"You won't get any argument from me," he said, taking a cookie.

"Do you want to talk about this morning?" she asked, gently.

"Not much to talk about. We were there for him."

"He would have appreciated it, I'm sure."

Tony finished his cookie and then reached for her, encasing her into his arms as she snuggled into his chest. He prayed she never had to meet his casket like that... that their son didn't end up so lost without him there.

He knew how those boys felt and if it weren't for military school and wanting to stick to his father that he could make something of himself... Tony could have been one of those lost boys. "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Oh... a lot of things."

"That you don't want to talk about huh?"

He sighed, heavily, and ran this fingers along her stomach, growing larger by the day. Tony focused on the tiny life inside of Leah, of the life he had helped to create. "I'm worried," he whispered, "that we've made the wrong decision... that it's not worth bringing a child into this twisted world."

She looked at him, pensively. "Isn't that a truth every parent faces? Besides... it's incredibly selfish not to give our potential children the chance at life. We can't right all the wrongs in the world... but we can raise a child that is going to bring light and good to the world... and maybe even change it."

Tony chuckled. "Wow, did you sound like a professor at an accredited university right there."

Leah smiled at him. "But it's the truth. I think our son is going to turn out just fine. I know seeing that boy commit suicide, and learning that children are being recruited by terrorists is frightening you... it frightens me too... but if we live in fear... I know I'd never get out of bed in the morning."

"It's possible this case could break me, Lee. Every cop talks about that one case... I thought I'd avoided it all these years..."

"It's okay to break. Everyone breaks at one point in their lives... sometimes more than once."

He didn't want her to think any less of him. He had always been the rock of their relationship, but then as he looked into her eyes he realized that _she _was his rock, just as much as he was hers. He could feel himself moving to this crossroads in his life at the speed of light. Tony wanted to slow it down, process what was happening to him... all around him... but as was true to the nature of the beast, this could not be case. He had to hold on tight and just pray that by the end of it all he came out in one piece.


	30. Guilt (Neverland)

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Neverland"

**A/N:** So, I really did try to write this as Tim/Delilah one-shot **EmeraldFire512, **but I will admit that their relationship is hard for me to write at times. Instead i wrote my favorite duo McNozzo :) IMO it's the best partnership on the show. It's evolved so much over the years. And I was so happy to see so much of it explored this season! I want more of that. I know Tibbs shippers are going to probably gripe about this but there's nothing left to explore between Tony and Gibbs. We know they trust each other, we know they've worked a long time together, there's only so many basement/bathroom heart to hearts you can do before it gets boring. SO bring on more McNozzo for S13! :)

* * *

**"Guilt"**

Tim noticed a sandwich bag of homemade cookies, snicker doodles to be precise, on Tony's desk that morning. "Leah baked for you, huh?" he asked, trying to make conversation. It had been difficult adjusting to being back at NCIS, especially after that long plane ride with Ned's casket. And then having to face his mother who said he shouldn't blame himself... he felt even more vastly out of place.

He wished that someone else had been with him on that flight. He wished that Vance had sent Tony inside. Tony would have stopped that terror plot from taking place, Tony would have saved Ned...

It felt like everyone was judging him because he had survived and Ned had not.

Tony glanced up from his paperwork to see the troubled expression on Tim's face and then he looked at the bag of cookies. "Yeah... she was trying to cheer me up." He noticed the pensive look in Tim's eyes and he slid the bag closer to his partner. "Want some? She made enough to feed the Army."

"No thanks, I haven't had much of an appetite since I came home," Tim confessed.

"Hey, Tim, you need to eat," Tony admonished him, gently. "Take it from me. There was nothing you could have done."

Tim glared at Tony. Why was he reiterating that point? Tim had heard that enough today. He did not need to hear it from his partner. And frankly, he was getting sick of hearing it. "We don't know that. I wasn't there. Maybe if I had been... things would be different."

Tony had no doubt that if Tim had been there that things would have gone different but not the way Tim was thinking. "You'd both be dead, Tim. No matter how much you tell yourself you would have made a difference, the truth is... you wouldn't have and you'd be downstairs in a refrigerated drawer as well."

"You don't know that!"

"Here's a question for you... if I disobey Jenny, does she survive that diner?"

"That's different!"

"Is it, Tim?"

Tim shook his head. Yes, it was different. Jenny went into that diner knowing full well what was going to happen. Ned had very little warning, there was no time to get out. "You being there would not have changed the outcome."

Tony smiled, sadly. "Exacly, Tim. The only thing that would have changed would have been that Ziva and I probably would have been killed in the firefight. That's the funny thing about _what if's, _chances are the changes would have been worse if you really stop to think about them."

He was right and Tim hated it, because he had to believe that if he'd been there things would be different. IF he didn't believe then the guilt was going to eat him alive. He suddenly understood why Tony had turned to alcohol after Jenny's death. The SFA had been shipped away from his friends, his family and forced to face all that guilt and anger on his own.

Suddenly a hand pat him on the shoulder. Tim looked up to see Tony standing with him, handing him the bag of cookies. "Hey, Tim," he said, "it's nice having you back in the big orange room," he repeated his sentiment from earlier and disappeared from the squad room. For the first time since returning, Tim finally felt good to be home.


	31. Heartbeat (Neverland)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for "Neverland"

**A/N: **I've purposefully left things hanging here, before anyone whines that I can't stop here lol. I fully plan to have a series of one shots coinciding with Season 13, so when that new season picks up, I'll pick up with these tags/oneshots again.

And I'll leave you with some of my final thoughts on Season 12: well balanced focus on ALL characters, seriously everyone got their moment to shine. It is becoming a series about a team again and I'm liking it. Yes, there might have been more of a focus on McGee but it's about damn time. I think he was the character that suffered the most to push the Ziva and Gibbs story lines on us. I was going to try and narrow down my top three episodes this season but it was so hard to do!

So this verse is going on hiatus for the summer (with the exception of the last chapter of _Tiny Additions). _**Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support! **

* * *

**"Heartbeat"**

A single, solitary heartbeat was between Gibbs standing there, fine and lying on the ground, bleeding.

Tony wasn't sure what ended up of his cell phone as he drew his gun and pushed his way into the crowd. Where was Joanna? Shouldn't she have been there too? Yes, he had been distracted by Daniel somehow getting his hands on his cell number and calling him... but that didn't excuse her from disappearing. If Gibbs died...

He told himself not to think like that. The boss did not have his permission to die, not yet. Tony shoved his way through the throngs of people, sent into a panic by the sounds of gunfire. He had lost sight of Luke long ago. Joanna had tried to warn Gibbs, back at the former marine's house when Luke had so called been abducted. She had tried to warn him that perhaps he was being played. Gibbs... didn't want to hear it.

_Always trying to save Kelly, _Tony cursed, inwardly. It was not the first time this year that a child had pulled the wool over Gibbs eyes. Tony had pushed the sociopath little girl from his mind months and months ago... but the look of shock on Gibbs face when she had admitted to killing her own mother in cold blood... that had told Tony right then and there that the boss' gut was off. He was blinded by children, always attempting to save them because he had not been able to save his own daughter.

Luke's slender frame came into Tony's vision. His back was turned, the gun hanging by his side as he walked by Gibbs, looking down at the fallen agent. It had been his test, obviously, to show his loyalty to the Calling. Tony briefly wondered if Luke had passed the test and he raised his gun.

One single heartbeat remained from Luke standing there to joining Gibbs' on the ground if Tony had the gall to pull the trigger and fire.

* * *

For all of second, a heartbeat, Delilah hesitated in giving her opinion, but then... "I'm leaning more to that green," Delilah said, pointing to the paint swatches on her dining room table. "Blue just seems so... traditional and boring."

"You sound like my sister," Leah said with a laugh and rubbed her belly. "But I was leaning more towards the green as well."

Delilah marveled her calm. In the last few days the tension around her apartment had been thick, one could almost cut a knife with it. Tim was wallowing in guilt and now worry over Tony and Gibbs being overseas looking for the boy. Delilah had given NCIS all the information she could about the Calling, but the investigation really was in the CIA's hands. "When are you going to paint?"

Leah wrapped a loose strand of hair around her finger. "I was hoping that Tony could do it this weekend. But something tells me he isn't really going to be up for painting when he gets back from Iraq."

"So, you've noticed it too?"

"The absolute dread in his voice when he talks... yes."

Delilah swallowed the nervous bile in her throat. "Tim hasn't been himself since he got back from Cairo. I know that this isn't the first agent that he's lost..."

Leah looked away, briefly out the window at the sunny street. "Kate. Tony's been talking about her a lot the last few days. I... I called Abby and asked her... why she thought that was."

"It's been ten years since Kate died."

"You called and asked her too."

Delilah nodded her head. Tim had been mumbling the last few days about how erie it was that Ned had died almost on the exact day ten years later that Kate had died. He recalled he blood on Tony's face, the shock in his partner's eyes and briefly wondered if Tony saw the same in him. He now had a better appreciation for Tony's depression after Kate's death. "It seemed out of the blue to me. I know that Tim cared about Kate and liked her, but he admitted that his connection to Kate wasn't as deep as Tony's. In fact, Tim rarely speaks of her."

Leah shuffled the paint swatches in front of her. Tony rarely spoke about Kate, too. She suspected that it was because it was too painful for him. The sudden change of behavior was a surefire signal that something was wrong. "This case, Delilah, it's really pushing Tony towards a dark place. I'm worried about him. He's... he's not opening up to me like he usually does. He's guarded with what he tells me. And I get it. I'm pregnant, about to become a mom and terrorists are using children... but still..."

"Are you worried that this time Tony will turn to the bottle and become an alcoholic?"

"You know how close he came after Ziva left."

"Tony wouldn't do that to you, Leah. No way. He hated his father for doing it to him!"

She knew that Delilah was right but she couldn't stop what she saw happening in front of her. Tony was on a track, almost a collision course and she was the spectator standing by watching, powerless to stop it. She rubbed her belly for a second, thinking back to the troubled look in Tony's eyes when they had heard the baby's heartbeat a few days ago. Usually it made him smile. On that morning it had made him frown. Delilah might have felt differently if she had seen the way he looked before going to Iraq.

But there was nothing that Leah could do right now, especially with Tony so far away overseas. She hadn't even heard from him since he'd left, wasn't even sure if they had landed okay. As for the rest of the team, they had been locked up at NCIS all night. Delilah wouldn't tell her and if she could, Leah suspected that she was shying away from it.

Suddenly the silence of the room was filled with the sound of the James Bond theme... the ringtone that Tony had jokingly programmed into Leah's phone. Her heart skipped a beat or two as she reached for it.

One single beat of her heart remained between her breathy hello and his agonizing answer.

* * *

Mike Franks, or rather the ghost of Mike Franks, had put it best... _who is going to save you? _

Gibbs stared, almost listless at the blue sky above him. All sound, all feeling, had slowly faded away. All he could hear was the slowing beat of his heart. Perhaps... it was time to let go. He was losing his touch. He was blinded three times by kids this year alone. If his judgment was impaired he was a danger to his team.

One agent had already died this year because of the impairment. He couldn't take losing anymore. He couldn't take watching Tony, Tim, or Ellie die. He couldn't take the disappointment in Ducky's eyes upon another agent's body ending up on his table.

Joanna had trie to warn him. He was being played. Rule 36. His own damn rules. He should have known better.

_Boss. You do not have my permission to die. _Tony. Stubborn. Demanding. And standing over him blocking the sun. _Boss? Come on, do you hear me!_

Gibbs didn't muster the strength to answer. Of course he heard Tony, when he wanted to be heard, Tony was loud, in your face almost. Funny, how Gibbs had spent most of those years silencing him when at the end it was loud voice booming in his ears.

Even that was fading, drowning out be the beat of his heart, a slow, thundering beat. One. Two. Three. How many more did he have? Their lives were made up the beating of their hearts, how fast someone got it racing, fear, joy, love, anger... all connected by a heartbeat. He heard his agent desperately tell him this time that help was coming and between one beat of his heart and another, he whispered, "Don't worry, DiNozzo... it's going to be okay."


End file.
